Seven
by NataraWilliams
Summary: After months of searching, Sirius Black has finally found the hiding place of his once best friend, Peter Pettigrew. However, an unexpected discovery forces Sirius to look back on his time at Hogwarts, as well as his friends. Plunging through Seven Memories from Seven Years of school, Sirius fights to find the answer to the question that haunts him: why?


**Seven**

The inn was dark and damp, thick with an unpleasant smell of mould and mildew. Although the walls were made of solid brick, they appeared to be rotting before Sirius' very eyes, as though they might come apart in moments. His nose wrinkled of its own accord as he made his way towards the desk, which was made of wood so aged he wondered how it was still standing. Ringing the small brass bell that sat upon the wood, he waited for someone to arrive. When he was met with silence, he rang the bell again, slightly more impatiently.

"Alright, alright, keep your knickers on. I'm coming."

He turned to see a woman make her way towards him, her face heavily plastered with makeup. Her hair was a bright artificial red that matched her cheap-looking lipstick, and her tight clothes hugged her every move. He flinched at the loud, ugly sound of her chewing her gum.

"What can I do for you, love?" she asked, leaning over the counter and flashing an impressive amount of cleavage.

"I'm looking for someone."

She grinned, showing a great deal of large white teeth. "Aren't we all?"

"I meant a specific someone, actually. I'm told he's staying here."

"Well, I can't really give you that information. Confidentiality and all that. You understand, love."

Sirius' fingers crept into his pocket and he withdrew a wad of Muggle money. He'd never really been able to count it properly, but the look on the girl's face when he slapped it on the desk told him it was a lot. She almost threw herself at it.

"Right then," she said, suddenly brisk and business-like. "Let's get down to it. Who are you after?"

"A boy, about twenty-one. Simon Tailworm."

The woman reached behind the counter and drew out a thick book, the pages filled with tiny writing. Turning to the last page, she found what he'd requested.

"Tailworm, yes. Booked in last week."

"Which room?" Sirius fought to keep the emotion from his voice.

"54." She squinted at him suspiciously. "Why are you looking for him anyhow?"

"It's not important. Do you have a spare key I could use?"

"Look here, I can't just give you a key. There are all sorts of rules against that, that'd be breaking the law…"

Sirius slid a second wad of cash towards her and she fell upon it greedily. He had almost no Muggle money left now, but it didn't matter. He was where he needed to be.

"Alright," The woman glanced about herself anxiously before pulling a small brass key off the wall and gesturing at him to follow her. She led him up some creaking stairs until he reached a half-rotten doorway by the landing. The five had come off, leading a peeling **4** to label the room.

The room itself was tiny, with an old bed that smelled of spoiled milk and a rickety old wardrobe that stood against the wall. With a loud sneeze, Sirius stepped inside, while the woman leaned against the doorway.

"I'm Charlotte, by the way," she told him as he gazed about himself. "Lottie for short."

"Pleasure," he answered expressionlessly. The room appeared empty, devoid of any personal artefacts. He couldn't describe why that made him angry.

"What's he done then? This Simon boy?"

"It wouldn't interest you." His fingertips danced across the bed sheet as he thought of the boy who would have slept there. Vulnerable. Defenceless. Easy to kill.

"Try me. That's not his real name, is it?"

Sirius looked up at her. "Why do you say that?"

"No one's called Tailworm. I'm right aren't I?" The woman had to audacity to sound excited. Sirius turned back to the small table beside the bed, which carried nothing but an old box of tissues and a pitcher of dusty water lying beside a cracked glass, which he picked up to examine.

"His real name is Peter." He had no idea why he said the words, aside from the fact that she wouldn't know what they meant. "He was an old friend of mine."

"Was?"

"He did some…things. Some unforgiveable things." Lottie startled as the glass shattered in his grip, shards sprinkling to the floor. One of the fragments slid down the palm of his hand, bubbles of dark blood forming around the cut. He swore loudly.

"Easy now," said Lottie nervously. "I'll clean that up." She moved towards him but Sirius stopped her.

"Don't."

She backed away. He was aware of how mad he must look, with his exhausted face and protruding bones, blood dripping from his hand to the floor. Even as a boy, he'd always been slender, but it had been months since he'd eaten properly and even longer since he'd slept through the night. Obsession had drawn the colour from his face and the meat from his bones, leaving him looking weary and unhinged, just on the brink of insanity. He'd spent his days searching, sniffing out leads and paying off sources. Now, finally, he was so close. And he had no idea what to do.

"I don't want any trouble," Lottie told him slowly. She seemed to be regretting having let him up. "This is a nice, respectable place."

Sirius laughed bitterly. "In that case, I'd suggest getting rid of the asbestos." He settled himself down on the bed. "I'll wait for Peter here."

"Would you like me to tell him you're here…"

"_No_." Sirius cut her off sharply. "No. Just let him come up."

"Like I said, I don't want any funny business going on…"

Sirius bared his teeth at her in something he hoped resembled a smile. "Don't worry. I just want a little chat with him, that's all."

"Alright," she answered, backing towards the door. "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to do something about your hand?"

Sirius simply wiped the blood on his jeans, secretly relieved to find that there was no glass lodged in his skin. "It's nothing. Just go back to work."

"Right you are." She slipped out, closing the door quietly behind her as though she thought sudden movements would set him off. The moment the door was closed, he flew into action, diving towards the drawer beside the bed. It was filled with socks and old scraps of parchment, which he looked at for a moment before tossing over his shoulder. Then, when he was convinced that there was nothing of interest to him in the drawer, he made his way over to the wardrobe.

He wasn't sure quite what he was looking for. Some sort of evidence, perhaps, that Peter had changed, perhaps a letter to the Death Eaters or some sort of dark magic prayer beads. Everything he found, however, seemed no different from the belongings of the Peter he had known; scruffy, too-small robes, old fragments of paper upon which he wrote reminders to himself, books that had been scribbled on, cases filled with old ink and quills. Nothing he owned was extraordinary, nor had it ever been. Slamming the wardrobe door, Sirius made his way back to the bed and settled down, defeated. It was then that he had another idea.

Falling to his knees, he reached under the bed, registering in disgust the mounts of dust and dirt that had built up under there over the years. He fumbled around for a few moments before his fingers brushed against something solid and he pulled it out from beneath the bed, staring at it confusedly. It was a simple cardboard shoe box that had been painted black, with a bold red **M **standing out in the centre. Sirius delicately traced the letter, contemplating leaving the box shut, positive that he would not like what was inside. In the end, curiosity won over sense.

With fingers that shook from an odd mixture of exhaustion, hunger, grief and numb anger, he pushed open the lid of the box, closing his eyes as he saw what was inside. Peter Pettigrew's box of memories. But they were Sirius' memories too, and try as he might, he could not seem to wrestle them from his minds' eye. Almost without his realising it, his grip curled around the objects he wished he had forgotten, or at least could forget.

Seven Years.

Seven Memories.

The most magically perfect number.

How ironic.

First Year-The Marauder's Ring

_Sirius found the ring first, placed delicately among the objects in the box. As his gaze fell upon it, he immediately touched his own, which wrapped about his smallest finger. In all truth, he hadn't thought of it until the day he found out what had happened to James. That day, he'd gone back to his family house for the first time in years and torn his old room apart, desperate to find it. He hadn't taken it off since and it was getting rusted and dull. Peter's, however, shone as though he polished it every day._

Eleven year old Sirius stood in the doorway, resting against the wooden frame of the empty transfiguration classroom. With a lazy smile, he watched his three best friends, who were sitting cross legged on the cold stone floor. Peter, the smallest of the group, was shifting uncomfortably with his hands trapped beneath him as the dark-haired James and the shaggy-haired Remus argued loudly.

"I just wish you wouldn't call me that," snapped Remus.

"Why? It's a cool nickname."

"It's stupid and childish. Stop using it."

"This seems like an extreme reaction."

"I just don't like it. Come on, I've told you and told you. It doesn't even make sense."

"Yes it does. Remus was a wolf, wasn't he?"

"Actually," interrupted Sirius as he stalked into the room. "Remus and Romulus were human boys. They were just reared by wolves."

"Look who finally deigned to join us." James lounged backwards, propping himself up onto hus."ere reared by wolves."d Remus argued bitterly.

shifting uncomfortably with his hands trappeis elbows. "Where have you been?"

"Packing. What's going on?"

"Wolf Boy doesn't like his nickname."

Remus sighed loudly. "James…"

"Oh, come on. It's catchy."

Peter suddenly emitted a loud, pig-like squeal of discomfort, wrapping his thin arms around himself tightly. After a moment of silence, James let out a surprised laugh, causing Peter to duck his head in humiliation, his plump face flushing with embarrassment.

his drawn face flushing in embarassment.s head in humilition,wrapping his thin arms around himself tightly. After a moment of s "See, James?" commented Sirius dryly. "You're upsetting the children." He leaned against one of the desks, looking down on his friend. "Now, what exactly are we doing here? The Hogwarts Express leaves in half an hour, you know, and as much as I'd love to spend Christmas here by myself, I'd like to be on that train."

"He has a point," added Remus. "I haven't seen my family in four months, I'm not sticking around here for the holidays as well."

"Aw," cooed James in a baby voice. "Is widdle Wemus feewing homesick?"

"Shut up," said Remus, but he was smiling. He'd never managed to stay mad at James for long.

"So?" pressed Sirius. "Is there any reason why we're huddled in here? Or did you just feel like dragging us into an empty classroom in the dead of winter?"

With a throat-clearing cough, James pulled himself to his feet. "I suppose you were all wondering why I summoned you here today."

"That's literally exactly what I just said."

James shot Sirius a glare. "_I suppose you were all wondering why I summoned you here today,"_ he said pointedly. Sirius smirked.

"Okay, I'll bite. Why did you summon us here today, James?"

In a sudden movement, James yanked his robes over his head in an attempt to create some sort of hood, presumably in an effort to look impressive. Sirius thought he looked more like a nun.

"What on earth are you doing?" he asked, amused. James continued on as though he hadn't heard.

"I have brought you here for the first meeting of the brotherhood." There was a short silence before both Sirius and Remus burst into laughter. Even Peter chuckled weakly, his eyes darting from Sirius to James in confusion. James surveyed them all with a sweep of his gaze, mildly annoyed.

"The brotherhood?" spluttered Remus. "What are we, some kind of cult?"

"I think we're more of a coven," laughed Sirius. "You know, like with witches and magic and stuff."

"A brotherhood," chortled Peter to himself.

"Alright, alright, enough." James held up his hand to shush them. "If you're all quite finished…"

"So, what would we do in this…brotherhood?" Sirius tried not to make the word sound mocking, but James caught his tone anyway, shooting him an unimpressed look.

"Anything we want. Mischief, trouble…a whole brotherhood dedicated to nothing but wreaking havoc and doing whatever the hell strikes our fancy." He attempted to stretch out his arms invitingly, but his robes were still bunched over his head and the gesture was ineffective. "We've got seven years stuck in this place, we may as well make the most of it, don't you think?" Met with a sea of unresponsive faces, James turned to Peter. "Peter wants in, don't you, Braveheart?"

Peter nodded emphatically and Sirius felt a stab of annoyance crossed with pity. He wondered for the umpteenth time if Peter realised the contempt with which James treated him, or the cruel sarcasm that lurked behind James' nickname for him. Most days, Sirius simply thought James let Peter hang around them just so that he could back him up in such occasions. In all honesty, he could see no other reason.

James had selected Peter as his friend the same way he had chosen the rest of them: with a sort of decisive randomness. He seemed to have a belief that everyone wanted to be his friend and simply required his permission to be so. He probably wasn't wrong. James Potter, with his easy charm and quick wit, seemed to attract the attention of most of his peers, although he treated most of them with cool disinterest that made them only seek his approval more desperately. Even Sirius himself had drawn quite a crowd of first-year admirers, who were all equally annoying. Peter, however, had an unquestionable loyalty to James alone, despite the disregard he was treated with. Even now, James simply looked at his eager friend with one eyebrow raised.

"Well then. Braveheart's on board. What about you two?"

Sirius laughed, shaking strands of dark hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Why not, right? It sounds like fun."

"Welcome, brother Sirius," said James sombrely, his eyes shining.

"Mischief, trouble, doing whatever we want…sounds like my sort of brotherhood." James started to smile, but Sirius kept talking. "But James, I'd consider pulling down the robes. You look like an idiot."

"Maybe that's what I was going for," grinned James, but he pulled the robes off him head, running his fingers through his mussed-up black hair so that it looked suitably scruffy. James seemed to spend hours a day making sure his hair stood up just the right amount. "So, Wolf Boy. What about you?"

"Really? Are we really doing this?"

Sirius settled himself on the floor beside Remus, clapping him on the shoulder. "Just go along with him. It's much easier."

Remus rolled him eyes, still smiling a little. "Oh what the hell. It's not like I'm doing anything better anyway."

James stuck out his hand, allowing each of his friends to shake it in turn. "Welcome, brothers."

Peter positively beamed, but Remus simply got to his feet. "Right, well. As important as this was, I've got a train to catch."

"Wait!" James stood up as well. "You can't go yet." Remus settled onto a desk and waited. "We need to swear an oath."

"An oath?" asked Sirius incredulously. "We have to swear an oath?"

"Of course we do. What kind of brotherhood would we be if we didn't even swear an oath?"

"These are the questions."

James clapped authoritatively. "Everyone raise your right hand." Peter's hand shot in the air, and Remus reluctantly followed suit. Still laughing a little, Sirius bowed to peer pressure. "Good. Now repeat after me. I, state your name."

"James, this is…"

"_I, state your name_."

"I, Sirius Black," repeated Sirius dully as his friends chorused alongside him.

"Solemnly swear allegiance to the brotherhood of the four. I promise to dedicate myself and my time to causing trouble, disruption and distress whenever possible, and the blame it on others at all time. I pledge fidelity to mischief and the brotherhood for all time, until death or expulsion."

Sirius echoed his friend's words, pulling a face at him in order to make him lose focus. To his credit, James didn't even crack a smile. When they'd all said the words, Peter struggling desperately to remember what he was supposed to say, James gave them all a nod of approval.

"Good. We are bonded now." Sirius snorted with laughter. "Shut up," said James good-naturedly. "Take this seriously."

"How could I not?"

"There is no disrespecting of the brotherhood." Even James couldn't say the words, the corners of his mouth turning upwards.

"Oh, of course. How could I be so foolish?" He leaned back against one of the desks again. "So, are we done here or what?"

"Yeah," said Remus, suddenly remembering. "We can't miss the train. This has been…interesting, James, but we really ought to…"

"No, wait." James stopped them once again. "There's one more thing."

"What? Are we going to exchange blood or something?"

"Don't be disgusting, Wolf Boy. That's incredibly unhygienic. incredibly unhygenic oy. That'"

"What is it then?"

James began to rustle through his pockets, tipping the contents out onto the table. His pockets appeared to have been filled with old gum wrappers, playing cards, small unopened bottles of ink, a practical joke guidebook, a watch that had stopped working in the first week of term, various notes and reminders scrawled on parchment, a collection of potions ingredients he'd stolen from the potions cupboard for no reason and bars of chocolate that had probably been bought suspiciously long ago. His attempt to sort through the debris managed only to create more of a mess.

"What are you looking for?" asked Peter curiously.

"Your Christmas present."

"You got me a Christmas present?" Peter asked, thrilled.

"Not just you. All of you. I know you're in here somewhere," groaned James, knocking some of his useless belongings off of the desk. "Where are you, you stinker?"

Remus was starting to get impatient, his leg shaking nervously as he checked his watch. "James, there's seriously no time for this. We're going to end up here over the entire break if we're not quick."

"Ah-ha!" James pulled an old gum wrapper off a small black box that had been lurking among the rest of his stuff. "Found it."

"You got me a box," remarked Sirius. "I'm touched."

James

Are we going to exchange blood or something?"tely to rememberus. To his credi, ptio ly swear allegiance to the brotherhood of the four. I promise to dedicate myself and my time to causing troublegrinned. "It's a little better than that. These are official marks of the brotherhood."

"Oh goodie."

h goodie."better than that. These are official marks of the brotherhood."dients he'term, various notes and reminders scrawled I "Gather around, children. Come and see your presents."

The three friends obeyed, circling the desk in order to stare at the contents of the small box, the anticipation fizzling out rapidly.

"Rings?" asked Remus. "You got us rings?"

"What are we, getting married?" smirked Sirius.

Peter smiled, but he reached into the box and drew out one of the four silver rings that sat against the black velvet lining. Almost reverently, he slid it onto his index finger and gazed at it.

"It's pretty," he whispered.

"Like you, Braveheart," answered James. The sarcasm was clear in James' voice, but Peter flushed as though the compliment was genuine. "Come on, you two, put them on or you'll insult me."

Sirius plucked one of them from the box and slid the slim silver band over his finger. His fingertip traced the insignia that was branded onto the cool metal as he stared down at it, confused.

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"Why Ihy i randed onto the cool metal.

e box and slid in the slim silver band over his finger. His fingertip traced the insignia thatis there a Wbranded onto my ring?

even swear an oath?"f brotherhood would we be if we didn'"

elcome, brothers." hand, allowing each of his friends to shake it in turn. er. "

o, Wolf Boy. What about you?" spend hours a day making sure his hair stood up quite the right amount. "ir so that it looked suis peers, althugh and simply required his permission to be so. He probably wasn'e"

James peered over his friend's shoulder. "That's not a W, you twit. It's an M, you just put it ois friend'fusedn the wrong way around."

"I see." Sirius plucked the ring from his finger and flipped it over, sliding it back into place. "There. Done. Now, why is there an M branded onto my ring?"

"It's the name of the brotherhood," declared James, happily.

"Which would be what?" asked Remus. "James Potter and the boys?"

"Now, now, Wolf Boy. Don't be silly. That doesn't start with an M."

"What are we called, then?" asked Peter excitedly.

James paused for effect. "The Mountbacks."

There was a pause. "The Mountbacks?" asked Sirius. "Really?"

"Well…yeah," answered James defensively. "Why what's wrong with it?"

"It doesn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of those who hear it. If we're going to have a brotherhood, we may as well make it sound frightening. Besides, we don't even ride horses or anything."

"We mount destiny."

"That just made it so much worse."

"Well, what would you suggest then?"

"What about The Magicians?" suggested Remus helpfully.

"Nah," mused James. "Everyone here is a magician, aren't they? I mean, it's not that impressive."

"What about The Mongrels?" asked Sirius. "That's still catchy, but it sounds sort of dangerous as well."

"That makes us sound poor and pathetic. No way."

"What about The Marauders?" Peter's voice was a surprise to everyone and they all turned to see him, examining his ring as though it was the most precious thing he'd even owned. Sensing his friends' gaze, he glanced up.

"The Marauders," repeated James with interest. "I like that. The Marauders."

"What does it mean?" asked Remus.

"I'm not sure. I think it's some kind of Muggle car. But they were this sort of gang in the sixties, about a year before I was born. They used to prowl around the streets and make trouble, sneaking into the Ministry and stuff. They once even tapped into the Ministry official documents and stole a bunch of money from Gringotts, millions of Galleons. For about a year they made the news everywhere, although the Ministry tried to play it down for the press, of course. After they stole the money, they just vanished off the face of the Earth. Never got caught. They're probably still living in luxury on some tropical island somewhere." Peter's voice rose into a higher register as his excitement grew.

"The Marauders," said James again. "Hmm. I like it."

"I still like The Mongrels," pressed Sirius.

"We'll vote. All in favour of The Marauders?"

When the other three raised their hands, Sirius followed suit. In all truth, he didn't really care about the name, although the Marauders did sound a little dramatic. He really just wanted to wrap the meeting up and make sure he wasn't trapped inside the school over the Christmas break.

"Okay. Sorted," James told them, pleased. "We are the Marauders."

The four of them stood in a circle, just looking at each other, bands of silver glinting on their index fingers. In that moment, it almost seemed as though they bonded by some sort of magic or force that none of them understood. In their minute of silence, they simply surveyed each other, unsure what to do.

"Well." Remus broke the quiet with uncertainty. "We should probably get going." He made his way towards the door and James followed close behind, giving Sirius a pat on the back.

"See you next year, you lot," he said to the room as a whole.

"Merry Christmas!" chirped Peter cheerily, to no reply.

"Yeah, I'll see you James. Bye Remus," answered Sirius, waving at the departing boy, who looked both sad and relieved to be going. As James slid out the door, Sirius moved to follow, before turning back to look at the room. Peter hadn't moved, standing in the centre of the room with a forced looking smile on his face. He looked up at Sirius.

"Merry Christmas, then," he repeated, more quietly this time. Sirius offered him a small smile.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course." Still, Peter didn't move, seemingly glued to the floor.

"Any day now," coaxed Sirius gently. He really had no idea how to treat Peter when they were alone, although those occasions were few and far between. He was constantly torn between being kind to him and wanting to smack him in the face. Moving towards the boy, he gestured at the open doorway. "Come on. We'll miss the train."

"That would be nice," Sirius heard him murmur beneath his breath.

"Don't you want to go home?"

"What? No, of course I do. It's nothing. It's fine." Peter shuffled towards the door, his head ducked nervousPeter shuffled towards the door, his head ducked nervou. "ng to smack him in the those occasions were few and far ly. "I'll…I'll just be off now."

"Pettigrew." This was one of the times when Sirius had no patience for Peter's self-pitying games. "Stop. Sit. Tell me what's up."

"The train will leave in fifteen minutes."

"Then talk fast."

Peter obeyed Sirius' orders, settling down on a desk beside him. "It's nothing. I just…Christmas isn't exactly the best time of year in my house."

"How come?"

"My house isn't exactly the nicest of places," mumbled Peter. "I mean…around Christmas…my mum…when they start drinking…"

It was clear that Peter wasn't going to finish his sentence in any sort of coherent manner. Already uncomfortable, his face turned increasingly red until Sirius started getting concerned. As the boy choked on his own words, Sirius patted him awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. Christmas is when all of our crazy relatives come out of hiding."

Peter wiped his nose. "Really?"

"Yeah of course." With a smile, Sirius turned to look at him, remembering his own maddened household. "I'll tell you a story. Last Christmas, my uncle Orion got a bit too into the firewhisky. You see, uncle is quite a muggle hater at heart, at when he drinks, that part of him starts coming out. We had this aunt Jenina, who was a half-blood, shame of the family, and he decided in his drunken haze that he would start his muggle-destroying regime with her. So anyway, he snuck into the bathroom and stole what he thought was a large number of my mother's sleeping pills, which he put into Jenina's wineglass. However, it turns out that what he'd actually stolen was some Euphoria tablets that my mum likes to take in order to better deal with her affairs. So in about fifteen minutes, we've got Jenina bouncing off the walls, Orion chasing her around trying to hex her, my mother passed out drunk, the rest of the family trying to break up the fight, and my other uncle Leo hitting on me, because my hair was longer then and he thought I was a girl. Oh, and my brother locked himself in the cupboard with the house elf and refused to come out because he decided that it was disgusting that we even entertained a half blood at our table."

Peter laughed and Sirius thought it must have been the first time he'd ever heard him laugh properly. "That's impressive."

"That was one of our better Christmases."

"I suppose that my family doesn't seem so bad," Peter said grimly. "We aren't quite as mad or angry or anything. We're just…quiet."

uiet."... mad. We' "etter Christmases." have been the first time he'd ever hused to come out because he decided that it was disPeter looked so sad that Sirius could hardly bear it. He had no tolerance for sadness, especially not in his friends. For some reason, despite months of having spent time with him, Sirius was only just beginning to see Peter as something more than an acquaintance.

"Hey, none of that. You don't need them anymore."

"Don't I?"

"Of course not. You heard what James said. We're your family now."

Peter looked up, delighted. "Really?"

"Of course."

"Alright." Dusting himself off, Peter got to his feet and made his way towards the door, turning back before he left. "Brothers then?"

"Brothers," acquiesced Sirius with a nod. Peter almost skipped away, turning back when Sirius called out after him.

"Peter?"

or angry or anything "Yes?"

"Merry Christmas, yeah?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Sirius."

"I'll see you next year."

As Peter left, Sirius shook his head to himself. He really wasn't sure what to make of Peter, who seemed so eager and yet so quiet at once. In some ways, he reminded Sirius of Regulus; small and desperate to please, yet unmistakeably talented in his own right. As much as Sirius could hate his brother at times, there was a sort of affection there that could not easily be broken. It seemed that that sort of tenderness had transferred to poor, stumbling Peter.

Sirius pushed the door open, jumping back in surprise when he found James waiting behind it, lugging a heavy black suitcase behind him. Somehow, he had found the time to completely rearrange it hair, gelling it completely back in the way he hated but his parents loved.

"Hey Slytherin," James greeted him.

"I think you might need to work on the nicknames," said Sirius, making his way towards the Gryffindor common room with James in pursuit. "Remus wasn't a wolf, Peter's scared of his own shadow, and I'm in Gryffindor."

"Slytherin's in your blood though, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me. What's with you and nicknames anyway? Why do you like them so much?"

"It makes us sound cooler."

"Good god, James. Nicknames, a brotherhood, matching rings…it's like we're begging to get beaten up."

"Oh, Slytherin. Such a pessimist."

"What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be on the train?"

"Yeah, in a minute. I just wanted to ask you something first."

just wanted to ask you something first."a question." "Shoot. Angel Hair," Sirius told the Fat Lady portrait, who'd donned a Santa Claus hat and some furry mittens in celebration of the holidays.

"I was wondering. How committed are you to going home for Christmas, on a scale of one to ten?" The two of them clambered together through the portrait hole into the empty common room.

"About a negative fifty. Why?"

"I thought you might want to come to mine these holidays."

Sirius turned to look at his friend, who looked back at him intently. "Do you mean it?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it won't be a big celebration, just me and my parents and maybe the neighbours. But hey, your place sounds sort of like hell and I'll probably be bored."

"What makes you think I'd want to spend my precious Christmas break with you?" mocked Sirius as they made their way into the dormitory and he found his trunk.

"Alright then. If that's how you feel." James turned away, but Sirius grabbed his arm before he made it to the door.

"Come back here."

"So you'll come?"

"Sure. If you're so desperate to have me."

"Hey now. I just didn't want you to have to suffer through your congregation of Slytherins."

"I'm touched."

"So you should be."

Sirius grabbed his bag, grinning, and followed James out of the common room, the two of them making their way down the marble stairs towards the front door. Nicknames, a brotherhood, matching rings...

eter?"with a nod. Peter almost skipped away, turning back when Sirius called out after him.

efore he left. "friends.

"James?"

"Yeah?" chirped Peter cheerily, to no reply.

James followed close behind, giving Sirius a pat on the back.

dex fingers. In that moment,eah, ."irius. "e. "ect

"oesn'ur head?

"Why did you want to be friends with Peter?"

James half-smiled. "Why? Don't you like him?"

"I do. He just doesn't seem like…someone you'd like."

"I think he'll have his uses."

"He's an odd kid, don't you think?"

"Well, he's our odd kid now."

They arrived at the door, luggage in tow, and James turned to look at Sirius. "I wouldn't worry about Peter. I know he seems as Hufflepuff as they come, but he's a Gryffindor through and through. Trust me. I'm an excellent judge of character."

And, like the fool he'd once been, eleven-year old Sirius followed his friend out of the castle, trusting him blindly.

Second Year- The Willow Fragments

_After a moment of hesitation, Sirius slid the ring back into the box, delving deeper into its contents. With a sudden cry of pain, he yanked his hand back, gazing at the tiny droplet of blood that had appeared on his finger, the same hand that had been cut by the glass. Bringing his finger to his mouth, he searched for the culprit; eventually, he stumbled across a few fragments of branches, old and broken, the tip of the sharpest piece stained with his blood. The branches seemed to squirm slightly in his grip as he examined them. They had come from a willow tree. _

"James, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Oh, shut up Peter."

Night had fallen and the castle grounds were dark and silent, each sound echoing around them. Sirius could even hear the amplified sound of Peter's breaths, despite the fact that he stood quite far away. They three boys crept over the land, making their way towards the lake, their path lit by the vast amounts of moonlight.

"I still don't see why we can't use the invisibility cloak." Peter looked about nervously, seeming tense and on edge. He'd never quite mastered the art of sneaking, although his losing his tendency to panic when it was dark had earned him the name 'Peter' instead of 'Braveheart'.

"I told you," James told him coolly. "There's no point. It's annoying and far too small. Besides, who's going to be out here at this time of night?"

"I still think this is a bad idea. If Remus wanted us to know what he was doing, he would have told us himself."

"You know Remus," answered Sirius. "Sometimes he just needs a bit of a push."

"How do you even know he's down here?"

"James and I checked it out. We snuck into the hospital wing, but he wasn't there. Madam Pomfray was, though, and she was talking to the Headmaster. She said that the tunnel was malfunctioning, so they had to bring Remus down through the willow."

"How do you know it's the Whomping Willow?"

"Do you see any others?"

Sirius padded after James, who was fearlessly charging down towards the tree at the bottom of the grounds. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in their first year, fully grown and menacing, long spidery branches casting shadows over the grass as it creaked in the wind. He's never seen much to fear about it however; it was only a tree, albeit rather an unpleasant one.

Peter, however, felt differently.

once been, eleven-year old Sirius followed his friend out of the castle, trusting him blindly.

g their way down the marble sta

randed onto my ring."is there an finger and flipped it over, sliding it back into place. "Hae ppose you were all wondering why I summoned you here today."" empty classroom in the dead of winter?"

"We're going to get expelled for this aren't we?"

"Don't be silly," chastised James. "That would mean us getting caught."

"I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding. Remus is sick, remember? He wouldn't lie to us." Peter noticeably rubbed the ring on his finger. He was the only one of the four who still wore his, although Sirius usually kept his safely nestled in his pocket.

"Sick once every month? At the same time? How likely is that?"

"What else could he possibly be doing?"

"That's what we're here to find out, idiot."

"He's _Remus_," Sirius added. "How bad could it be?"

"I don't know," retorted James. "I've always felt he had a dark streak. Maybe he's down there creating some sort of drug den."

"Or a torture chamber."

"Or a mass grave for all the victims he's killed."

"Stop!" Peter looked slightly green, even in the dim light. "It's nothing. He's sick. You know that."

"Or is he?" They had finally arrived at the tree and James approached it slightly hesitantly. "Right then. Do any of you know how to actually get in?" There was a murmur of dissent coming from Sirius and Peter. "Okay. This could be problematic."

James stepped back to take a look at the tree, knocking into Sirius, who'd been standing right behind him. Fumbling to recapture his balance, Sirius stumbled into Peter, who took a few steps forward to stabilize himself. In doing so, he tripped over a concealed root and hurdled headlong into the tree, where he lay in a heap. The three of them froze in their tracks.

"Did he just…" asked Sirius.

"Did that just…""id that just...e tripped over a concealed root and hurdled headlong into the tree. The three of them froze in their tracks.

started James at the same time. Peter said nothing, his entire body tensed as he crouched among the roots. All seemed still.

"Well," began Sirius. "Nothing seems to be…"

A loud creak echoed through the grounds, causing an intake of breath from the three of them. Sirius and James saw what was about to happen, but Peter's back was turned. Even if he had seen, he couldn't have moved in time.

"Peter, look out!"

The thick winding branch, studded with sharp twigs, swung towards Peter, colliding solidly with his stomach. Winded, Peter let out an awful gasp and huddled over, but the tree offered him no respite. A second branch whipped him across the back of the head, making a hideous cracking sound. Even from where he stood, Sirius could see trickles of blood dripping down his neck.

"Peter, move!"

"Peter, get out of the way!"

He couldn't seem to react, reaching up to protect his head as blows came crashing down. The sounds of the collision were accompanied by Peter's desperate yelps. Hesitantly, Sirius approached the tree, before backing away.

"Peter, get up!"

"Do something!"

Sirius turned towards James to ask "What?", just in time to see his friend purposefully step towards the willow, dodging a flailing branch as he did so. Reaching out to stop him, Sirius only just caught him in time.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"He'll die." There was an undertone of panic in his voice.

"So, what? You just thought you'd save us all the trouble and let us build a double grave for the both of you?"

"Get out of the way, Sirius," he growled, and forcing his friend aside launched himself into the path of the tree. Almost instantly, a branch struck his in the shoulder, sending him careening into the trunk. Desperately, he tried to make his way towards the huddled lump that was Peter, but the branches continued their onslaught.

"Peter, come here!"

"I can't!"

"Try!"

"I can't, I really can't."

Sirius took a deep breath as he watched his friends struggle. "I can't believe I'm doing this." Steeling himself, he charged headlong into the willow's warpath, hurdling past the solid blows raining down upon him. A heavy branch collided with his head and a second with his stomach, knocking the air from his body. Ignoring the pain, he dded with sharp twigs, swung towards Peter, colliding soeath from the three of them. Sirius and James saw what was aboutstabilize behind him. Fumbling to recapture his balance, Sirius stumbled into Peter, who took a few steps forward tograppled on desperately, blocking his face. He was trying to get to Peter, but stumbled across James first, who was fighting to get to his feet. Sirius reached out and grabbed his shirt, yanking him along as they wound their way through the crippling boughs. James, bruised and bleeding, tried to pull away from his grip, although Sirius clung on tightly and dragged him along with all the strength he could muster.

he strength he could muster.

sed and bleeding, tried to pull away from his grip, although Sirius clung on tightly and dragged hi "Sirius, let go."

"You have to keep moving, James. Once you're down you can't get up."

"We have to get to Peter."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?"

The two of them charged along, holding each other upright as they dodged and ducked. It took them several minutes to get to Peter, who was on the verge of tears as the same two branches continued to crash down upon him. James, gripping at Sirius' shoulder, stretched out his hand towards the terrified boy.

"Peter, take my hand."

Peter reached out and wrapped his hand around James', letting them pull him to his face. Up close, he was a wreck, with his clothes torn to reveal purple bruises forming before their very eyes. Leaning on James, he attempted to limp out of the way wiping blood away from his mouth. James gasped suddenly; when Sirius looked at him, his eyes widened.

"_Peter!_" he roared, and Sirius swivelled to see what was wrong. A long, sharp limb swung down from the tree, poised to slice Peter's head clean from his body. It would have, had James not thrown himself at the boy and knocked him to the ground. Peter went flying into the air before tumbling against the roots with a cry. Sirius stepped out to try to help, but was stopped short by a bough that was only inches from his face. Squeezing his eyes shut, Sirius waited for pain.

None came.

It took him several second to open his eyes. When he finally did so, he found the branch frozen just millimetres from his face, the twigs frighteningly close. Nervously, he reached out and touched it; nothing happened.

"James?" he called out. "Peter? Are you okay?"

He watched James struggle upright and stagger towards him, catching himself on the trunk of the tree. "Sirius? What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know. Why did it stop?"

"I think it was this." Peter's voice was strangled, but he was on his feet and gesturing at something on the ground. "I grabbed it and everything just froze."

"What is it?" asked James, hobbling closer.

"A knot in the roots." The three of them leaned in close to examine the wood. Before Sirius could stop him, James reached out and poked the knot. Nothing happened.

"Well," remarked Sirius. "That was lucky."

"Or was it skill?" joked Peter feebly, catching his breath.

James surveyed them all, beaming. "We survived!"

"Yippy," replied Sirius dryly. "Maybe we should make a habit of doing this."

"We should get out of here," said Peter anxiously, glancing about. "This is dangerous, we shouldn't have…"

"Stop!"

Peter had started to step forwards before James reached out and grabbed him, yanking him backwards with such force that he almost lost his footing.

"Why did you do that?" asked Peter, perplexed.

"Look where your foot was."

Sirius came closer to see a tunnel hidden behind the roots, leading into darkness. Another step forwards and Peter would have plummeted into the unknown. Sirius whistled, impressed.

"Good catch."

"I think I might have missed my calling as a keeper."

Peter was gazing at James in wonderment. "You saved my life."

"Forget about it. Maybe one day you'll return the favour." James crouched down, his face only inches from the mouth of the tunnel. "What do you suppose is down there?"

Sirius joined him. "Remus, I suppose. Basking in his lair of evilness."

"When is he ever not?"

Peter hesitated. "We shouldn't go down there. It's not safe."

"Oh come on, where's you Gryffindor spirit? We just fought off a demon tree. We can handle a hole in the ground."

James swung his legs over the side, so that they dangled in the emptiness. Turning to Sirius, he winked.

"Wish me luck."

"Break a leg," answered Sirius with a grin.

"Ha ha."

With that, James pushed himself off the edge into the darkness. There was a second of silence, during which Peter audibly caught his breath, and then a loud thud. Sirius leaned down, forcing the concern from his voice.

"James? You okay?"

The reply was muffled, but unmistakeable. "No. I've been mauled by wild bears. Quick, save yourselves!"

With a snort, Sirius started to lower himself into the tunnel, his gaze boring into the clearly nervous Peter. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

you coming?"Sirius started to lower himself into the tunnel, his gaze boring into the clearly nervous Peter. " "This is so against school rules."

"If Remus can do it, so can we."

With that, Sirius dropped into the room below, crashing into James as he landed. The rest of his body was cushioned by soft carpet.

"Ouch!"

"I barely touched you."

"I'll probably have lasting scars."

"Somehow, I believe you will survive."

"That was very graceful. Perhaps you should consider a career as an aerial gymnast."

"Maybe I will."

They were interrupted by Peter crashing to the ground, letting out a chorus of swear words.

"Peter!" James feigned shock. "I'm surprised at you! My ears are not a toilet."

"Shut up." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Let's just figure out where the hell we are, okay?"

They were in some sort of long, winding hallway that was lit only by a few scattered lamps upon the wall. The hole above them was barely visible in the gloom, but there appeared to be nothing else around them. A thick stench filled the space and Sirius opened his mouth to comment when James shushed him.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shush. Just listen."

He heard it too, in the distance. A low growling sound that echoed through the halls, almost rattling the floor beneath them.

"What is that?"

"I don't know. Let's go find out. _Lumos."_

With that, James started down the hallway lit by the blue light of his wand, followed by a reluctant Peter and an overwhelmed Sirius. Running to catch up, Peter yanked on James' sleeve.

"James, I think the natural thing to do is to run away from growling noises, not towards them."

"I like to live dangerously."

He stopped outside a room with a closed door, where the growling was the loudest. His fingers rested on the handle, just lightly, and Peter let out a small cry of fear.

"James, please don't."

Without even looking up, James pushed the door open a crack. "Oops. Hand slipped."

"James…!ames...nd slipped." up, James pushed the door rs rested on the handle, just lightly, and Peter let out a small cry of fear.

" James peeked through the crack, jerking back suddenly as though he'd been burned. "James!" urged Peter. "James, what is it?"

"It's…it's…" James looked utterly shocked. "It's…"

"Oh for God's sake."

Sirius reached out and pushed the door open, looking through at the scene inside. He couldn't hold back a gasp. Inside the large, empty room lay an enormous wolf-like creature, with grey and matted fur, its back turned to the door. Its hind legs were chained to the wall, but even from his angle, Sirius could see that he was tearing into them with his teeth. He quickly slammed the door shut, to be met with Peter's gasping face.

"It's a…a…"

"I know, Peter. I know."

"But what the hell is it doing here?"

"I don't know. I'm not a divination teacher."

"Why are we still here? We have to leave!"

"Guys!" James' voice cut through Peter's panic. "Come look at this."

He was holding a folded set of robes, tattered and patched, a gold and red stripped tie lying neatly on top. There was also a pair of scuffed shoes, with white socks balls inside them as they rested next to the clothes.

"Are they…" Sirius couldn't finish the senses.

"Remus'? Yeah. Look at the patches," James' voice sounded odd. Not sad or scared, just thoughtful.

"Did that…that thing…did it…?" Peter, in contrast, sounded choked.

"Eat Remus?"id it...g...d odd. Not sad or scared, just thoughtful.

next to the clothes.

ipped tie lying neatly on top. There were also a f

Peter clamped his hands over his mouth. Sirius watched, numb.

"Did it?" he asked hoarsely. James looked up at him, his eyes glittering in the dim light from his wand.

"I think…I think the wolf _is_ Remus."

"Don't joke. It's not funny."

"I mean it, Sirius. I mean, who folds their clothes before their going to be eaten?"

"A very persnickety dinner."

"Think about it. Remus is sick, every month at the same time. He's always exhausted the next day, always sick. He's always covered in scars and scratches, he's always so secretive about where he goes, he used to practically break down when I called him Wolf Boy. It makes sense don't you think?"

Peter protested, but Sirius simply strode towards the door and pushed it open slightly. Leaning against the frame, he watched the wolf gnaw at itself.

"Sirius?" asked James, cutting Peter off mid-sentence. "What do you think?"

"I think…" Sirius paused. "I think Remus is a werewolf."

James punched the air. "I knew it!"

"This is… _so cool_."

"I know! Can you believe it? I'm friends with a werewolf! Just when I thought I couldn't get any better!"

"Shush. He'll hear you. Or smell you or something."

"He doesn't seem to smell us now."

"Huh. I always thought that wolves had super scent."

"I guess if you're forced to turn into a werewolf, you'd like to have some sort of super -sensory powers."

"I guess it's the least you can get in return. Although he seems quite distracted by his own leg, so it could be partly that."

"And here I always thought he was all cut up because he was clumsy."

"Clumsy, tearing at his own leg with his teeth…same difference."

Peter squealed with rage. "Are either of you listening to yourselves? Your best friend is a werewolf!"

"Well, at least now we know what to get him for Christmas," smirked James. "A nice chew toy."

"Or some dental work. He's just tearing through that leg of his."

"Are none of you understanding this situation?" cried Peter in a frantically high voice. "He's a bloody werewolf!"

"Oh shush. Take a deep breath and try to remember that you're going through puberty." James leaned in close to the door and smiled. "Sirius, how scared are you of wolves?"

"Less scared than I am of that question. Why?"

"I want to touch Remus." James frowned to himself. "Okay, that didn't come out exactly like I wanted. I just want to pat him."

"You want to pat the man-eating wolf?"

"I only need you to distract it…him…for a little bit so I can pat him. I just want to see what he feels like."

"This Iuis i ittle bit so I can pat him. I just want to see what he feels like."may be the weirdest conversation we've ever had."

"Oh come on, when am I going to get this opportunity again?"

Peter jumped from one foot to the other. "Don't do it. Please. Let's just get out of here."

"We will in a minute. Come on, Sirius. Just a little distraction."

Sirius sighed. "You owe me."

"That's my boy," said James, clapping Sirius on the arm. Before he could be stopped, James darted through the door and crept towards the wolf, his back to the wall. He slid into the shadows, his feet silent on the dusty ground. He managed to sneak until he was directly behind the great creature before giving Sirius a thumbs up. Peter covered his eyes.

"Here wolfie!" said Sirius loudly, slapping his hands against his knees. In a single bound, the wolf found its feet and turned towards the door. It certainly looked nothing like Remus; its eyes were wild and ochre, its face lean and pulled back in an ugly snarl that showed a vast amount of sharp yellow teeth. For a moment, Sirius reeled back but held his ground. "Good little wolfie. Who's a good wolf? Are you a good wolf? Is it you? Is it you? Yes, you're a good boy, aren't you?" cooed Sirius, continuing to smack his knees. With a sudden roar, the wolf lunged forwards, its mouth open wide eo smallopen wide enought lf lunged forwards, it' it you? Yes, you'unt of sharp yellow feet and turned towards eyes.

as it snapped its teeth. The chain pulled taut and yanked the creature back, causing it to whimper pathetically as it fell back against the wall. It was only down for a moment though, soon standing on edge and trembling with vicious snarls.

James moved like lightning, sliding across the floor and sliding his hand into the wolf's fur. It suddenly reared, knocking the boy back to that he hit the wall and careened towards the exit with a low hiss of pain. As the wolf reached out to claw at him, he bolted across the room, only narrowly avoiding the enormous paw that passed inches from his head, and raced out of the door. Slamming the door behind him, he fought to catch his breath, bent over to help with his wheezing.

irius, how scared are you of wolves?" smiled. best friend is a werewolf and you'l hear you. Or smell you or somethng/ntence. "ds the door and pushed it open slightly. Leaning against the frame, he watched t""

"So?" asked Sirius, smiling. "Was it worth it?"

"He's…so…fluffy," panted James.

"Well, I'm glad you've had your fun," said Peter, who looked beside himself with nerves. "We could all have died!"

"Death by werewolf isn't a bad way to go."

"Can we leave now? Please?"

"Yes, yes, Peter. We're leaving."

As they started to walk down the hall, Peter leading the way, Sirius noticed the wide grin that tugged at the corners of James' mouth.

"Why so cheerful? Was he really that fluffy?"

"He was immensely fluffy."

"And that makes you happy?"

"I've always wanted a pet."

…..

The next day, James and Sirius waited at the breakfast table of the Great Hall, exhausted and injured, but barely able to contain their excitement. Peter hadn't gotten out of bed that morning, claiming a stomach ache, although he'd looked visibly shaken, practically on the verge of tears. Sirius guessed that he hadn't slept all night. When Remus appeared the doorway of the Hall, messy as ever, James smacked Sirius across the shoulder as hard as he could.

"Ow!"

"Shut up. Be cool, Wolf Boy's coming."

"Oh god, don't tell me the nicknames are back. We only just got rid of them."

"Yeah, but now no one can lecture me about my nicknames being inaccurate. Now, simmer down, Slytherin."

"Still in Gryffindor, James."

Remus pulled up a chair beside them, letting out a groan as he sank into the seat. He looked even more tired than they did, dark circles framing his brown eyes. "Morning," he grunted, before doing a double take when he saw the state of his friends' faces. "What the hell happened to you two?"

"Oh nothing."

"You should see the other guys," boasted James, leaning back. Sirius couldn't supress a snort.

"Yeah, we really showed that tree what's what," he muttered under his breath. James' elbow collided with his ribs.

"So, Remus," said James loudly. "What happened to you last night? We were looking for you."

"Oh, I felt sick, so I went down to the Hospital Wing, just for a quick potion. You know how it is. So, have you two done the potions homework yet? It was a bit tricky, I thought I'd check my answers…"

"Sick again?" interrupted Sirius. "This is getting a bit out of hand."

"Yeah," added James in an overly interested voice. "What's actually wrong with you anyway? Flu? Dysentery? Fast-acting STD?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. I just have a weak immune system or something. Nothing to worry about. Anyway, how are…"

"That's rude, James," Sirius cut in. "You shouldn't talk about it if Remus doesn't want to. You know he's been feeling quite _ruff_." Sirius barked the last word, causing Remus to jump in surprise. In response to his friend's searching look, Sirius smiled innocently.

"I disagree," answered James mildly. "I think that Remus has been looking rather _fetch_ing lately."

Remus looked from one of them to the other. "I…I…thanks, I think?"

Suddenly, Sirius thumped the table with his fist in a fit of false anger. "_Dog_gone it! It seems you're always sick lately, Remus!"

"Well, he is one unlucky son of a _bitch_."

Remus was flushing now, looking partly confused and partly terrified. "Why…Why are you talking like that?"

"Easy there, Wolf Boy. You're getting a bit hot under the collar."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry," smirked Sirius. "His bark is worse than his bite."

"Sure, but that's no reason for him to act like he's top dog."

The sound of scraping filled the air as Remus shoved his chair back from the table, his face drained of all colour. "You know," he whispered, his voice low and almost dangerous. Sirius laughed at his friend's expression.

"Of course we know. I mean, we were going to find out eventually. How stupid do you think we are?"

"But…I…what…how…?"

"We followed you last night." Sirius leaned in close. "James _petted _you."

Remus looked aghast. "_What_?"

"You weren't supposed to tell him," mumbled James embarrassed.

"You _petted_ me? Why? Why would you do that?"

"Is this really the part we're going to focus on?"

"You're right." Remus lowered his eyes, bashfully, wrapping his arms around himself to grasp his elbows. "I'm so, so sorry. I put you all in danger, and there is no excuse. I completely understand that you don't want to be friends anymore. I'll…I'll just go, then. I'm sorry."

He started away, stopped in his tracks by Sirius calling after him. "Remus, don't be an idiot. Come back here and finish your breakfast."

"No, it's fine Sirius. I get it. I wouldn't want to be friends with me either. I'm a…" he lowered his voice, "a monster."

"Oh Wolf Boy," said James in a bored tone. "Don't be ridiculous. Just sit."

"You don't have to pretend…"

James drew his wand, laying it on the table, whilst still pointing it at his friend. "Come here and eat your eggs, Loony Lupin, or I swear I will hex you. Are we clear?"

Hesitantly, Remus lowered himself back into his seat. "So…you don't hate me?"

"Hate you? You just got about ten times cooler!"

"I mean, you've got fur and teeth and stuff. That's about as good as it can get."

"As far as animals go, you're quite up there. At least you aren't a bunny or something."

"Unless you were a rabid super bunny with extrasensory powers. That might be sort of cool."

"Yeah, Remus, you might need to work on your super senses. You may be the least observant creature I've ever met. I was right next to you, you never even looked up."

"Will you keep your voices down?" hissed Remus, looking about nervously. "Or would you like to just declare it for the entire school?"

"I think I'll declare it." Sirius thought James was joking, but he clambered up on his chair and cleared his throat as though about to make an announcement.

"Excuse me, everyone…" he started, but Sirius grabbed the hem of his robes and yanked him down off the chair, almost sending his clattering to the ground. A few students looked up, rolled their eyes and went back to their breakfast.

"You are insane" berated Remus, but he smiled properly.

"I get why you wouldn't want people to know. It's a dog eat dog world out there, you know."

"James…"

"What? Am I in the doghouse?"

"Shut up, James."

"Would you like me to _paws_?"

"James, I will hit you."

"You, hit me? Well, now I'm just _howling _with laughter."

"Okay, stop it."

"Don't worry," Sirius told Remus. "He'll run out in a second. He's probably scraping the bottom of the barrel already."

"Wow, Remus, this really bothers you. I mean, you're like a dog with a bone."

"Ignore him, and he'll go away," said Sirius. "Anyway, there was something we wanted to talk to you about."

"What?" asked Remus, suddenly nervous.

James reached into his pocket and pulled out a collection of worn and torn parchment ripped from a book, crumpled and mixed among gum wrappers.

"James, you promised you would keep them neat."

"They're neat enough." James pushed them towards Remus, who picked them up and began to read.

"Hey," Peter greeted them as he appeared, still looking shaky. He plopped down into a seat and simply looked at the food, slightly green in the face.

"Look who's up and about," smiled James. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah. I…I guess." Peter hesitantly looked at Remus and glanced away.

"He knows we know," Sirius told him. Remus didn't even look up from the papers he was holding.

"Is he okay?" asked Peter anxiously.

"Shh. You know how Remus gets when he reads."

It was at that moment that Remus let the pages fall onto the table, straight into a pumpkin juice spill.

"See Sirius?" James pointed out. "Even if I had kept them neat, they would have been ruined anyway."

"It seems destiny has you at every turn."

Remus looked at them, shocked. "Are you…are you actually serious about this?" he asked shakily.

"Deadly," answered James.

"This is no ordinary piece of magic. This will take years, and even then, it'll be so difficult to get yourselves approved. The background-check alone..."

"Please, we aren't going to sit through a background-check. Who are we, the Minister of magic?"

"That's totally illegal James. Also, you'll need someone to guide you through, you can't do it by yourselves."

do it by yourselves."e you through we, the Minister of magic?"eck alone." "You underestimate me."

Peter looked perplexed. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh yeah," said James. "You weren't there when we talked about this. Just read."

As Peter gingerly picked up the soiled pages, Remus turned to Sirius. "You don't agree with this, do you?"

"If it means you won't be alone, I'm in."

"I can't guarantee I won't hurt you. It's too dangerous…"

"We're going with you one way or another. This is the safest, surest way. We aren't going to let you do this by yourself."

Remus went quiet, touched. "You would do that?"

"Of course."

Peter looked up over the pages. "You want us to become Animagi?"

"Congratulations," drawled James. "You learned to read."

"James this is super complex magic. And incredibly dangerous. If we're caught…"

"Don't worry about it."

"He's got a point," remarked Remus. "James, I appreciate the thought, but…"

"You don't get a say in this. We're doing this, whether you want us to or not. So you'd better get used to the idea."

Sirius nodded solemnly, but Peter looked worried. "I'm not sure I can do this," he claimed, still running his eyes over the pages. "It looks difficult. I'm not as good you two are at spells and stuff."

"Well, you'd better learn," James told him firmly. "We won't wait for you."

"But it's so hard."

"Tough. Work hard or you'll get left behind." James got to his feet and made a show of dusting himself off. "Come on, Sirius, we've got Transfiguration now. You ready?"

"Yeah, sure." He looked at Remus and Peter. "I'll see you guys later, okay."

"Sure." Remus gave him a rueful smile. "I guess the conversation went to the dogs, huh?"

He was met with James' unimpressed look. "No, Wolf Boy. Just no."

As he and Sirius strode towards the door, Sirius turned back to look at his friends. Remus was tucking into breakfast with a wide smile, but Peter looked absolutely shattered. His head sank into his hands and for a moment, Sirius wondered if he was crying. After a moment of reluctance, he turned around and walked away.is friends. Remus was tucking into breakfats …his...ed James.

.

rious about this?"n." have been ruined anyway."pill.

rn parchment, crumpled and mixed with gum wrappers.

craping the bottom of the barrel already."ng his clattering to the ground. ed his throat as though about to make an annoucement

be ridiculous. Just sit."ba"ither."ish your breakfast."excuse. I completely understand that you don'

Third year- The Broomstick Bristles

_Looking closely at the fragments of willow, Sirius noticed a few page twigs poking out from the dark pieces of wood. Taking another look inside the box, he noticed they were everywhere; yellowed straw-like spindles that had been lightly scattered over the contents. He didn't need to look closer to identify them. They were the ends of a broomstick, bitterly cut up and hurled into the box of memories, never to be thought of again._

"…so then I hexed him so that it would follow him all day. He couldn't work out why everyone was laughing at him!" James roared with laughter and Sirius joined in.

"Ahh Snivellus," he sighed, still chuckling. "What would we do without him?"

"Anyway, it's your turn next. How are you going to top that?"

"I've been thinking. We might be being a little too direct."

James shifted, interested. "How do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong. I like what we're doing now. I mean, hexing his shoes so he had to dance everywhere…genius."

"That was your idea."

"What can I say? I'm brilliant."

"You're the one who let him hang you upside down from the Quidditch posts last week, remember?"

"Hey, you're the one who he tied to the hexed broomstick."

"Yeah, well…none of that matters anyway. What's this brilliant new idea of yours?"

"I thought maybe we could try something a little more subtle. You know, maybe like a potion or a long-lasting spell. If we do it right, he'll never prove it's us, although he'll suspect us all right…"

James interrupted him excitedly. "That's brilliant! We should cast a spell that changes his appearance. Covers him in purple pustules or something."

"Does that exist?"

"How cares? If it doesn't, we can just invent it. How hard can it be, right?"

"Well, it's all a matter of confidence. And we've already got ourselves a guinea pig." Sirius glanced up to see Peter making his way towards the portrait hole, trying and failing to sneak away. He stopped short when James called out.

"Pettigrew!"

Peter turned, looking almost frightened. "Y-yes?"

"Come here. We're planning revenge on Snape."

"What for?"

"Oh, you know," answered Sirius coolly. "Existing."

"Oh n-no," stammered Peter, edging towards the exit. "I'll just be going now. For a walk, I mean. I'll be back. I mean…of course I'll be back. Enjoy…plotting. Bye."

Peter slipped out into the hallway, out into the darkness. Sirius watched him go, but James had already lost interest.

"So, some sort of appearance changing spell? We'll have to be careful though, we'll probably improve him. Just steer clear of giving him any features of mine and we should be good."

"Hmm. Yeah. Have you noticed that Peter leaves the common room to go for a walk every single day? At the exact same time?"

"Yeah, so? It's good for him to get some exercise. Have you seen what that kid eats?"

"Don't you think it's strange?"

"Don't be an idiot, it's just Peter. Now, what if we gave Snivellus a whole morphing potion?"

"Yeah, great," answered Sirius distractedly.

"Or we could just burn the castle to the ground with all the students inside," tested James. Sirius didn't look up.

"What? Yeah, perfect."

"Or maybe we could just give Snivellus your nose. That seems punishment enough."

"What?" Sirius looked up. "What's wrong with my nose?"

James laughed, stretching lazily along the grass. "Nothing. You are a ray of perfection. Now are you going to focus? Or am I going to have to actually burn the place down?"

Sirius just looked at him. "What are you on about?"

"Get your head in the game, Black."

"I've actually got a bit of a headache. I thought I might go down to the hospital wing and get a potion or something."

"No," whined James. "Don't leave me here. Remus is having his time of the month, Peter's wandering the moors…who's going to help me with this?"

"I think you can manage by yourself for a bit."

"Well, I am extraordinary."

"Of course you are. Now, you make a plan, and we'll put it in action a bit later. How long can it take to invent a spell?"

"If you're off gallivanting somewhere while I'm here working, I'm going to kill you."

"Yes dear."

Sirius ducked out into the corridor and scanned the halls, searching for any sign of activity. Finding none, he reached into his pocket and drew out an old piece of parchment. Tapping it lighting with his wands, he muttered "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Thin lines of ink materialised on the worn page, swirling around to create an intricate system of halls and classrooms, depicting the entire school as a whole. It had taken Sirius and James almost six months to complete, with a little help from Remus and some encouragement from Peter, who had almost no knowledge of spells outside of the classroom. No matter how hard they tried, however, the map only seemed to be able to track the four of them; although James was confident he could repair this flaw, it seemed unalterable. Now, however, the Marauders were all Sirius needed to see reflected in the parchment: James in the corner of the common room, Remus far below in the Wolf Hut, Sirius himself immobile in the corridor, and Peter down in the Quidditch pitch.

"The Quidditch pitch?" thought Sirius aloud. "What the hell is he doing at the Quidditch pitch?"

He bounded down there as quickly as he could, going so far as to sprint down the grounds until he reached the small circle of land. He paused outside the pitch, making sure to stay in darkness as he peered into the night, seeing nothing. Glancing at the map again, he saw Peter was most definitely there.

"Peter?" whispered Sirius to himself, his words swept away by the breeze. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Oddly enough, it was at that moment that Peter appeared, nothing more than a speck in the darkness. His form swept through the clouds, tiny astride a magnificent broom that gleamed gold even in the darkness. Sailing towards the goal posts, he dove through, hurling what looked like a Quaffle through the hoop. Even from the ground, Sirius could hear his yells, faded and feeble in the distance.

"And Pettigrew makes another goal! Did you see that ladies and gentlemen? Magnificent, just magnificent. 140-0, in Gryffindor's favour! All thanks to Pettigrew!"

Sirius smirked, but kept watching as Peter practised, diving through hoops and dodging imaginary assailants. Peter, as it turned out, was a highly talented chaser. For someone so plump, he weaved and balanced with surprising agility, light and nimble. Soaring through the air, he turned flips and rolled through the air, hooting with laughter as he went. It was the happiest Sirius had ever seen him. He scored almost four more goals before he spotted Sirius, who leaned casually against the seats, watching and waiting. For a moment, the two boys simply stared at each other. Then, hesitantly, Peter drifted gently to the ground.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with trepidation.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm just…I'm not doing anything."

"Oh, of course. Silly me. Here I was thinking you were playing Quidditch when _clearly _you were doing nothing. How foolish I am."

"I-I-I…" Peter looked miserable, choking on his own words. "I- I mean, I-"

Suddenly the broom clasped in Peter's hand caught Sirius' attention. Without thinking, he reached out and yanked the broomstick from its owner's grip, prompting a squeak of protest from Peter. Sirius disregarded him, his eyes feasting on the broom.

"Is this a Starshooter?"

Peter perked up almost instantly. "Yes it is. It was my mother's."

"It's beautiful." Sirius touched the straw-coloured bristles. "I never knew you flew."

"I don't really."

"Peter, you're really good."

"No, I'm not," protested Peter, although he looked pleased.

"Are you trying out for the team tomorrow? You should."

"Well…I…I was thinking about it."

"James is trying out for chaser. Go with him. He'll help you through it, I'm sure he will. Do it."

"Well, I…okay."

"Good. Are you coming inside?"

"I should probably practise. I mean, James' has been flying since he could walk, I should squeeze in a few more hours at the very least."

"Commitment pays off." Sirius patted his friend on the shoulder. "You know what? I'm proud of you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, you never really do stuff for yourself. I'm glad you are, for once." Sirius began to walk away, turning back at the sound of Peter's voice.

voice. to walk away, turning back at the sound of Peter' in a few more hours at the very least." "Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for this."

"Anytime, Braveheart." The nickname hadn't been used in years, but it felt oddly appropriate at the time. He turned away, but was stopped again.

"Sirius?"

"What?"

"You still have my broom."

Sirius sheepishly passed the Starshooter back, reluctantly releasing the handle. Peter smiled as he took it back, stroking the golden bristles.

"This thing's my baby," he said proudly.

"So it should be. It's a great broomstick. Good luck tomorrow."

Sirius watched Peter swing his leg over the stick before he turned back towards the castle, beaming broadly at nothing.

…..

"I just can't believe it." James was piling breakfast onto his plate in a highly aggressive manner, clanging the serving spoon against the porcelain. "It's just ridiculous."

"James, let it go," sighed Sirius, eyeing the plate nervously. "There's no need to take it out on the cutlery."

"I just can't _believe_ it!"

"I think you may have covered that already."

"I thought I'd be a lion, or a panther or something. At least some sort of predator. A carnivore!"

"I'm begging you. Let it go."

That morning, after a year of practicing, James had finally managed to be the first of them to achieve his Animagus form. The result had devastated him.

"A _stag_. Do you know what stags do? Nothing!"

"That's not true. They have antlers and things. They could charge at you and trample you if they wanted."

"This is so unfair. Remus gets to be a wolf and I'm a bloody stag."

a bloody stag.". Remus gets to be a wolf and I'uld charge at you and trample you if they wanted." broadly at nothing.

stles.

"Would it make you feel better if Peter or I ended up as something worse than a stag?"

"There is nothing worse than a stag," muttered James darkly.

"What if I were a bug or something?"

"It would still be cooler than a stag." James crossed his arms sulkily, looking moodily at his breakfast.

"Come on. Quidditch trials today, stop being a prat."

"No," answered James childishly, before perking up. "Ooh, morning post!"

The owls had begun to swoop in, sailing across the hall and creating mayhem as they went. A snowy white owl dropped down in front of James, chirping happily.

"Poppet!" James greeted his family owl happily, running his fingers over the dappled feathers as he pulled the letter free.

"Anything important?" asked Sirius, buttering his toast.

"Nup. Same old same old."

The two boys jumped as a brown owl dropped down beside them and hooted impatiently.

"Who's owl is that?" asked Sirius.

"I've never seen it before."

Sirius carefully reached out and plucked the letter from the bird's beak. The red envelope was turned over in his hand as he read the scrawled script on the back.

"It's for Peter," he said, puzzled.

"Give it to him later, then. Where is Peter, anyway?"

"Still sleeping."

"That boy sleeps almost as much as he eats."

The letter Ihe letter i as he eats."nd as he read the scrawled script on the back.

mpatiently.

as he pulled the letter free.

down in fronin Sirius' hands started to shake unexpectedly, causing him to take a closer look at it.

"James," he said in a low voice.

"What?"

"This is a Howler."

James stopped eating and looked up. "What?"

"Peter just got a Howler."

"Well put it down! Throw it away or something! Aim at Snivellus!"

"I can't. It's about to explode. James, what do I do?"

"Open it, you idiot! Open it quick!" When Sirius hesitated, James grabbed it from his hand and tore it open. Sirius tried half-heartedly to grab it back, but it had already started screaming. The entire Hall plunged into silence as a screeching voice echoed from the letter.

"_Peter! I just had a _very _interesting conversation __nteresting conersation creaming. The entire Hall plunged into silence as a screeching voice echoed to grab it back, but __Headmaster Dippet! Failing school, are you? I've heard you haven't handed in a single scrap of homework since the beginning of the term! Even your bastard father managed to scrape by at that school! If you don't start pulling your act together, you pathetic piece of lard, I will go down to that school and pull you out myself! Wasting all your time with stupid pranks and mucking about! Get your act together you stupid, useless, miserable parasite. Can't you do anything right?"_

The letter exploded into ashes, sprinkling down onto the table and covering James' plate of food. The silence lasted for a few moments, before the students began to chuckle and resume their conversations breezily. James groaned.

"Well, thanks, Mrs Pettigrew. You managed to ruin my breakfast in both food and atmosphere."

"At least Peter wasn't here to hear that."

"I think you spoke too soon." James jerked his head towards the door and Sirius turned to see Peter standing, frozen, in front of the doorway to the Great Hall. Even from across the room, Peter's face looked ashen grey, his body trembling slightly as he stared at the spot the letter had been. James moved as though to get to his feet, but Peter slowly backed into the hall, his face frozen in its pale, shocked expression.

"Should we see if he's okay?" asked Sirius.

"He probably wants to be alone."

"You think?"

"I would."

Sirius whistled. "And I thought I had family problems. James, what are you doing?"

James was struggling to pick out the ashes from among his scrambled eggs. "My day has been ruined enough already. I will eat these eggs if it kills me."

"It might."

Sirius turned towards the door, wondering momentarily about Peter. For a moment, he contemplated leaving James behind and going after his distraught friend. However, the moment soon passed and he turned back to a very frustrated James.

"See, if you were in your stag form, you could eat the paper easily."

ee, if you were in your stag form, you could eat the paper easily."rated James.t friend in front of the doorway to the Great HaJames pointed his fork at Sirius. "You'd better watch yourself, Slytherin. Don't come crying to me when you end up as a worm."

The two of them continued to eat, Sirius making an active effort to cleanse the image of Peter's devastated face from his mind.

….

It was freezing in the seats of the Quidditch pitch, despite the fact that Sirius was wearing about three coats and two scarves. Spotting Remus' face from across the stands, he made his way across towards his friends. As he went, he heard several girls giggle as he went past, causing him to sigh inwardly. He hated those girls.

"Hey," Sirius greeted Remus as he arrived. "Have you seen Peter?"

"No. I heard what happened at breakfast today, though. Is he okay?"

"I don't know. He just vanished."

"Well, James said he wanted all of us here to watch him try out."

"When does James ever do anything without an audience?"

"He does so love to be watched."

Sirius and Remus stood back and viewed the students who were trying out, ranging from second years to seventh years. James was clearly visible, looking coolly confident as he stood in the middle of the pitch with an easy smile and a much-loved Moonbeam 1000 in his hands. He offered his friends a wave, which they returned.

"You ever think of trying out?" Remus asked him.

"I never really got the point of Quidditch. I mean, chasing after balls on a broomstick? It seems a bit stupid to me."

"Don't tell that to James. He lives and breathes the sport."

"How about you? You're small, you'd be a good seeker."

Remus smiled grimly. "I have enough on my plate without joining the team as well. Besides, I'm hopeless at it. I can barely balance on the ground."

"You know Peter's trying out," Sirius told him casually. Remus looked surprised.

"Really? I don't think so."

"He told me so himself."

"Then explain that." Sirius followed Remus' pointing finger to see Peter making his way towards them, tripping over several seats as he went. As he arrived, Sirius gave him a small shove.

As he arrived, Sirius gave him a small them, tripping over several seats as he went.e and a much-loved James was c "What the hell, Pettigrew? I thought you were trying out!"

Up close, Peter was a wreck. His eyes were red-rimmed from tears and bloodshot, his pale face marked with tear-stains that seemed to have embedded in his very skin. He glanced nervously at Remus, who was looking at him in concern. "I wasn't really going to do it. It was just a joke." He laughed uncomfortably, his eyes shifting from side to side.

"You sounded pretty serious."

"Oh look!" Peter pointed with forced enthusiasm. "James is about to try out!"

Sirius turned to see that he was right. James, looked mussed to perfection, mounted his broomstick and steeled himself. The other two chasers trying out, a burly fifth-year and a slender sixth-year, were poised beside him, the practise keeper waiting patiently at the goal post. The Quidditch Captain released the red Quaffle into the air and the game began.

As impressed as Sirius had been with Peter's skill, James was undeniably breathtaking in the air. He weaved and glided through the players, catching the ball effortlessly between his fingers. In a matter of moments, he scored a goal, the ball slipping past the keeper before he even knew what had hit him. As James swooped back for a second goal, plucking the ball from the air before him, Sirius met Remus' knowing eye.

"He's on the team," said Remus needlessly.

"Gee," answered Sirius, his voice spiked with sarcasm. "You think?"

"Are those two even touching the ball?"

"Do they o thhey two even touching the ball?"h sarcasm. "m the air before him, Sirius met Remus'ven knew what had hit him. As James swoneed to?"

As Remus turned back to cheer James on, Sirius faced Peter, who had never looked away. His eyes were filled with a desperate sort of longing, so intense and fixed that Sirius felt a stab of fear.

"Peter?" he whispered. Peter grunted, but didn't reply. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean? I'm watching James. I'm being a good friend."

"I mean about the trials. Why aren't you down there?"

"I was just kidding myself. I wasn't actually going to do it."

"Why?" His voice rose and Peter shushed him. He continued on in a hushed voice. "Why? You're good Peter, you're really good."

"No, I'm not. I'm not even half as good as James."

"You're better than that guy."

The meaty fifth-year chaser was barely clinging to his broom, chasing after James in an effort to get the Quaffle off him. James looped past him easily and scored another goal, feigning towards the middle ring before hurling the ball through the left goal post. Peter chortled weakly.

"Most players are better than me."

"How could you possibly know unless you try out?"

Peter looked at Sirius with a deep sadness in his eyes. "I'd screw up at the try outs."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do," said Peter with unexpected force. "I do. You heard my mum. I screw everything up, always. This is no different."

Sirius paused for a moment, thinking. "Mothers…you can't always listen to them. She didn't know what she was talking about."

"That's the sad thing. She's right."

James was being called down now, but he wasn't about to cut his moment of triumph short. He circled the pitch in a victory lap, both his arms punching the air as he went. Remus clapped loudly, but Sirius didn't look away from Peter.

"It's not too late. You can go down there and sign up. They'll let you, I know they…"

Sirius trailed off when he saw the resignation set in Peter's face. "There's no point," he murmured. "I can't do this." He turned back towards the pitch and clapped manically.

"Go James!" he yelled out, causing James to turn and flash him a brilliant smile. He bowed with a flourish and a wink.

'Peter…"

"Please, Sirius. Drop it," pleaded Peter. "Just…don't mention it to anyone."

Sirius looked at him for an instant. "Okay."

"Okay. Thank you."

The three boys turned to cheer on their thrilled friend, who appeared to be doing some sort of celebratory dance that somewhat resembled a crazed chicken. As hard as they all clapped, Peter's cheers were the loudest and the clearest. They rang, clear as crystal, through the stands as he watched his friend achieve his own dream.

own the loudest and the clearest. They rang, clear as crystal, through the stands as he watched his friend achieve hisFourth year- The Snape Crest

_A glint of silver caught Sirius' eye, buried beneath a heap of bristles. Digging through, he lifted in from the box and smiled despite himself as his eyes raked over the bracelet. It was a small silver chain with a silver face, covered with small onyx gems that formed the letter S. Recklessly, Sirius slipped it on his wrist, surprised to find no resistance. He'd lost more weight than he'd thought__._

Sirius' foot crashed down on a squeaky floorboard, causing Rems to snap at him in annoyance.

"Sirius! Could you be making any more noise?"

"Calm down," said James, from a distance. "No one can hear us down here. Paranoid much?"

"You never know."

"Oh yes, I forgot. These super-secret passages are always teeming with witnesses." He gestured at the empty space. "Hello magical ghostly friends."

Remus huffed and said nothing as they continued on. The tunnel they were travelling through was narrow and low-hanging, so that only Peter could stand comfortably without hunching over. It had stretched out from a trapdoor beneath the library, pitch black and smelling strongly of dust. Peter, who had allergies, had taken to constantly sneezing, tripping several times although the tunnel was clearly lit by James' wand.

"You okay there, Wormtail?" asked James over his shoulder. That nickname had begun when Peter, after almost two years of effort and frustration, had finally discovered his Animagus form. His animal, a chubby grey rat, had seemed slightly anti-climactic.

"I'm fine," wheezed the boy, but Remus was rolling his eyes.

"Are you still going on with these nicknames? I thought that had stopped by now."

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Well, the lad anyway."

"What if I come up with a stupid nickname for you? Like…like forkface or something."

"Forkface?" asked James, the incredulity clear in his voice as they squeezed along the passage,

"Yeah. You know. Because of the antlers."

"Oh yes. s barely clinging to his broom, chaisng voice. "ooked away. His eyes were filled with a desperate sor

eter just got a Howler."looked up. " causing him toSuch brilliance. Such wit."

James' voice cut off as he came to sudden stop, causing each of the boys to collide with each other.

"Ouch!"

uch!"came to sudden stop, causing each of the boys to collide with each other.

"James, what the hell?"

"Peter, you're on my foot."

"That's not Peter, it's me."

"Then who's lying on me?"

"Oh, that's me. Sorry."

"Well get up then, you clumsy oaf."

"I'm trying, someone's on my arm."

It took them a few minutes to properly disentangle themselves, and Sirius managed to squeeze by the bodies to find his bearings in the darkness.

"James?" he called.

"Yeah?"

"What was that?"  
"Sorry the passage just cuts off. It's a dead end."

"And you didn't feel like warning us?" With the help of the tunnel wall, Sirius tried to slip past to get to the end, but the space was too narrow.

"Sorry, I didn't see."

"You are going to wear those glasses. I mean it, James."

Recently, James had started to lose his sight. It had started slowly, with objects blurring around the edges and long distances being hard to make out. However, it had rapidly worsened, and he could see almost nothing now. His parents had sent him a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, which he abjectly refused to put on. Despite some long drawn out arguments, he stubbornly kept them in his pocket and continued to bump into things, insisting he looked cooler that way. Even now, he simply laughed his friends off.

"I can see just fine."

"You couldn't see a wall an inch from your nose."

Suddenly James shushed his. There was a loud thump coming from somewhere near the front of the tunnel, which caused whoever was pushing up against Sirius to jump.

"What was that noise?" It was Remus.

"I just found a way out of here."

"Are you sure about this James? Check the map again."

re you sure about this James? Check the map again."oming from somewhere near the front of the tunnel, which caused whoever was "I don't want the map."

"Why?" pressed Sirius. "Because you can't read it?"

"I can see!"

"Hey James. What do you call a blind stag?"

"Really, Sirius? Now?"

"Hey, I want to know," interrupted Remus. "So, what do you call a blind stag?"

"No eye deer."

Remus and Peter laughed, but James huffed in annoyance. "If you're quite done, I found a way out of this tunnel."

"Well thank heavens for small miracles."

"Don't be clever, Moony."

There was a fumble and a grunt of effort, and suddenly James appeared to be gone, his wand light vanishing. The tunnel was plunged into darkness.

"James?"

"James, where are you?"

The light reappeared, blinding the three boys. James' head was sticking out of a small window that was built into the tunnel wall, about four feet above the ground. The hole was large enough for a grown man to fit through.

"What's through there?" asked Peter.

"Nothing special. It's just a room. Come on."

Sirius was the first to step up, forcing himself past a disgruntled Remus towards the entrance of the passage. Hauling himself up, he coughed at the sudden scent of mothballs. They were in a rather large wardrobe, with silver and green Quidditch robes hanging around them. Sirius opened his mouth to comment and suddenly found James' hand clamped over his mouth.

"Shut up. We're inside the Slytherin dormitory. Do you want us to draw attention to ourselves?"

Sirius tried to reply, but found James' hand in the way. After shaking his head to try to free himself, he finally resolved to biting his friend's hand.

"Ouch!"

"I thought we had to be quiet."

"You bit me!"

"Your hand was in my mouth."

"You become more and more like a dog every day, you know that? Your animagi form is slowly taking over."

"Let's hope that happens to you. I think you would look dashing with horns coming out of your forehead."

"They aren't _horns. _They're antlers."

Remus coughed as he shoved his body through the hole and pulled himself in a single heave of effort. Gazing about himself, he was almost hit in the face with the sleeve of a robe.

"Are we in a closet?"

"Shh," hissed James and Sirius simultaneously. Their efforts were rendered unnecessary as Peter loudly tried to pull himself into the hole with a wheeze, hovering there until Remus bent down to help him up. He made an impressive clamour as he grunted and groaned, hauling his plump body into the small room.

"Smoothly done, Wormtail," drawled James as Peter found his feet. "I think there's someone in the astronomy tower who didn't quite hear you come in."

"Sorry, I…"

"Shh," hissed James, Remus and Sirius altogether. Peter crept towards them and leaned against the back of the wardrobe.

"Oh no," he whispered. "This is even smaller."

"What's wrong now?" asked Sirius. "I thought it was open spaces you didn't like."

"I'm not crazy about small ones either. I like perfectly average spaces that are neither too big nor too small."

"You're a tricky little guy aren't you? Now shush, someone will hear us."

James pressed his hand to the door and pushed it open a crack, letting light slip into the small space. He pressed his eye to the gap before quickly drawing back.

"Okay, Marauders. Huddle up, it's planning time." The three boys obeyed. "There are six Slytherins hanging out in there. We know from the map that Snivellus' bed is the fourth from the right. We know what we're looking for is probably by his bed."

"Are you sure?" asked Remus. "He wears it a lot."

"Aha, my foolish friend. That's just it. You see, Snivellus is out on the grounds with his Defence Against the Dark Arts class, where they will be catching Mud Kelpies. He wouldn't wear such a treasured item to such a messy task, you see? Which is why it has to be now."

"I still don't see why we're taking it."

"He took my broomstick!" snarled James. "He deserves it."

"You don't know he took it."

"Oh yeah, he just _miraculously_ found the exact same broomstick as me the exact day mine was taken."

"Fine, point taken. But how are we going to actually get inside if there are six Slytherins in there already?"

"We could distract them," suggested Peter, but Sirius gnawed at his lip.

"Nah, too obvious. Besides, any distraction we create from over here will only draw them over here, don't you think?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Look, I say we keep it simple," James muttered. "Send someone in their Animagus form to get it from the bed, and bring it back here. No one will think anything of an animal being in the dormitory."

"They might notice a stag trotting about in there," Remus pointed out.

"I didn't say I'd do it."

Sirius stepped forward. "I can do it. They won't notice me if I'm quiet enough." He took a deep breath, preparing to transform, but James stopped him.

"Not you. They're Slytherins, not Hufflepuffs, they'll notice a big fat dog comes through there."

"Hey!" replied Sirius indignantly. "I am not fat."

"Tell that to your dog form. It's been looking pretty chubby lately. Anyway, Peter's the one who has to go in there."

"What?" asked Remus.

"Really?" interjected Sirius.

"_What?_" cried Peter, appalled, only to be met with a chorus of shushing.

"Yeah," said James calmly. "You're small, you're quick, no one will think twice about a rat prancing about in that place. They probably won't be able to tell you apart from the other Slytherins." He chuckled for a second at his own joke, before returning to the matter at hand. "Anyway, you can pick it up in your teeth and bring it back without being seen."

"But…but I…" Peter struggled, looking trapped and panicked. Sirius turned to James.

Peter struggled, looking trapped and panicked. Sirius turned to James.g seen."nd. "bably won'l think anything of an animal bein "James, if he's not comfortable with it, I can do it, really . I'll be quiet, I'm really not that big…"

hy it has to be now."d item to such a messy task, you see? Which is hat Snivellus'nto the small space. He pressed his eye to th

ou bit me." had to be quiet."to free himself, he finally resolved to mothballs and suddenly found James'round. The hole was lars barely clinging to his broom, chaisng voice. "ooked away. His eyes were filled with a desperate sor

eter just got a Howler."looked up. " causing him to

"No. Peter has to do it."

"James…""ames...r has to do it."t, I can do it. I'

James simply turned away and faced Peter. "Go in there and transform. It's probably just sitting on his bedside table. Don't mess this up."

"I don't want to…"

"Change." There was no room for negotiation or options in his voice, just steely authority. His eyes were strongly fixed on Peter, boring into them. After a moment of staring, there lay only a small grey rat on the floor of the wardrobe, squeaking and writhing. James picked it up, opened the wardrobe a little, and hurled it into the room slamming the door shut once more as Peter vanished.

"James!" Remus looked at him, shocked.

"Ah, don't worry. Rats always land on their feet."

"That's _cats_."

"Cats, rats…same thing. I'm sure he's fine."

Remus drew out his wand and the Marauder's map and began to examine it, mapping Peter's progress as he went. He muttered to himself, probably giving advice that Peter would be unable to hear. Sirius moved towards James.

"Why did you do that?" he murmured in his friend's ear.

"What do you mean?"

"I could have done that, you know I could have. I'd be quicker and quieter than he was, why did you make him go?"

"It'll be good for him."

"He's scared out of his wits."

"He needs to get out of his comfort zone a little. I mean, for God's sake, he can't handle big or small spaces. Big or small, Sirius! What else is there?"

"So you figured you'd just chuck him in there and see what happens? What if something goes wrong?"

"Then he needs to learn to take care of himself."

"Guys," started Remus, but Sirius cut him off.

"You can't just leave him to do things on his own. For goodness sake, he once got lost inside the Gryffindor common room."

"Guys…" Remus tried again.

"You know what they say. Give a man a fish…"

"You aren't giving him a fish, you're giving him a room full of Slytherins."

"You didn't get the metaphor."

"No, I got the metaphor, James, I was just saying…"

"Guys!" snapped Remus, and James and Sirius finally turned to look at him.

"What?" asked Sirius, exasperated.

"The Slytherins are closing in on Peter."

"What, all of them?" asked James, crossing over to peer at the map. "What can you see?"

"James, put your glasses on. You're being ridiculous."

With a sigh, James obeyed, pulling out the rimmed eyeglasses and slid them on, peering down at the map through the thin lenses.

"Holy crap, you're right." After taking a second to examine the paper, he slid the glasses off his nose and replaced them neatly in his pocket. He seemed to feel very strongly about not wearing them.

"How can they see him?" inquired Sirius, leaning over to look. The six Slytherins seemed to be approaching the dot labelled P. Pettigrew, zeroing in as though to surround him. "He's a rat, he shouldn't stand out. Even if they did spot him, they shouldn't all go to investigate, don't you think?"

The sound of a yelp suddenly bled through the door, unmistakably human and undoubtedly Peter. It was soon joined by cry of triumph from the Slytherin boys, low and animalistic, which echoed even inside the wardrobe.

"I don't think he's a rat anymore," remarked Remus, but James was already gone. The moment the cry had rang out, he'd flung himself out of the wardrobe, revealing the scene taking place in the dormitory. Peter had been backed into a corner, back in his human form and whimpering beneath his breath. Six large, muscled Slytherin students had formed a semi-circle around him, grinning as they pointed their wands at Peter's chest. They started to turn around when James appeared, but they were too late.

"_Petrificus Totalus!" _he roared, the spell colliding with the largest of the Slytherins, despite the fact that his problematic sight caused his spell to shoot far from the Slytherin he'd originally been aiming for. As the student stiffened and began to fall backwards, a second Slytherin shot a spell at James, which he somehow managed to dodge. With a roll of his eyes, Sirius dived out of the closet and yanked out his wand, stretching it out towards the students. In a matter of moments, the two of them stood among a sea of unconscious Slytherins, leaving Peter to tremor by himself against the wall.

"Well," said Sirius after a pause. "We could have just done that, I suppose."

"I guess," admitted James. "Obvious, yet effective."

Remus suddenly crept out of the wardrobe, his head ducked low. "Good job guys," he said cheerfully. "Obviously, I would have jumped in to help, but you were just so quick…"

bviously, I would have jumped in to help, but you were just so quick... of unconscious Slytherinst towardsemi-circle around him "Yeah, Moony, we get it." James turned on Peter, his eyes flashing. "Why is it, Wormtail," he began in a dangerous, silky voice, "that I always need to clean up your messes?"

"I…I'm sorry James, I told you I didn't want…"

"I mean, what part of the plan was so difficult? All you had to do was stay a rat and you couldn't even manage that."

"I'm sorry. I was trying, but I'm not like you and Sirius. I'm not good at this. I just lost focus…"

"You had one job. One. You think Sirius and I will always be here to wipe your mouth for you?"

"I helped," added Remus.

"Yeah you did," Sirius comforted him, clapping him on the back. "You were there for moral support."

James was still fixed on Peter. "Did you even manage to get it?"

"I was getting to it…"

"God, Peter can you do anything? It's so bloody easy and yet you still manage to screw everything up."

"I'm sorry." Peter sounded close to tears, and Sirius decided to step between him and James.

"James, take it easy."

James didn't even look at him. "You know what Peter? I think I'm starting to understand why your animagus is a rat."

A sudden uncomfortable silence descended over the group as James stared Peter down. The show of dominance was completely wasted; Peter was shaking, looking more terrified and shattered than he had when he was cornered by Slytherins. Sirius stepped forward and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"It's fine, James. We'll get what we came for, everything will work out as planned."

"What about them?" asked James, jerking his head towards the six students sprawled at their feet. 'What do we do about them?"

"We could try that new spell we've been working on," suggested Sirius. "The Specified _Obliviate_."

"Too risky. We haven't got it right yet, and we can't have them carted off to St Mungo's with their memories completely wiped. Besides, how will we know which particular memory we've erased?"

"We should leave them here," Remus told them firmly. "Their story will sound ridiculous anyway. A rat turned into a man, then two boys leapt out of the Quidditch Cupboard and stunned them? No one will believe them. And even if they do, they can't trace it back to us. I doubt they got a good look at your faces."

James thought for a second, then nodded, appeased. With brisk, purposeful strides, he made his way to the fourth bed from the right and started to search the table and trunk with gusto. He held up a smock and mockingly held it up against himself.

"How do I look?" he asked in a silly falsetto.

"I think it suits Snape better," answered Sirius jokingly, but he had one eye fixed on Peter. Remus was talking to him quietly now, saying meaningless words in a reassuring voice that seemed to have no effect. Peter looked frozen solid, his grey eyes not even blinking. The only sign of life was the slight twitching and trembling that always spasmed through his limbs after he'd transformed. Sirius had been like that for a while, but it had rapidly died down with practise. Peter went out to practise every night without fail, never seeming to improve beyond the level he was at. Even during the full moon, he often had to sneak outside to take his human form for a break, and he was often quaking and stammering the next day, unused to his own large body.

"Bingo!" James' voice brought Sirius back from his distracted state. His friend dangled a piece of jewellery from his hand, letting the silver chain catch the light. It was nothing more than a small chain with a jewelled bird engraved on it, but it was Snape's most prized possession. He wore it everywhere, the glint of silver always visible on his wrist, flashing whenever he moved. Sirius had once heard him say to Lily Evans that it had been in his family for generations. Now, it belonged to the Marauders.

"Great," said Sirius. "We should get out of here before the spells wear off." He made his way towards the wardrobe and turned to find that James hadn't move, still examining the bracee, still examining the wardrobe and turned to find that James hadn' he moved. Sirius had once heard him slet in his hands.

"Old Snivellus won't know what hit him," he said half to himself, smiling.

"Well, he will if he gets back and finds us here, won't he?" argued Sirius. James said nothing and simply reached into his pockets and pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill and a pot of red ink.

"What are you doing?" asked Remus curiously.

"Leaving our calling card." James dipped the quill in ink and scrawled a large M onto the parchment, leaving it on the table where the bracelet had been lying.

"He'll know it was us," stated Remus pointlessly. "We used to wear those rings, remember? He'd always ask us what M stood for."

"He had some pretty creative ideas," smirked Sirius, remembering.

"That's the point," replied James. "He's meant to know it was us, but he can't prove it. This is war, remember." Sirius turned to talk to Peter and Remus, only to turn back when he heard James gasp.

"What's up?"

James turned around, his eyes shining. "We may just have hit the jackpot." He held up his discovery for all to see: it was a small green book with a bold black SS inscribed on the front and a padlock sealing the pages shut.

"What is that?" asked Remus.

"I think it's Snivellus' diary." Before anyone could even register his words, James whipped out his wand and pointed it at the lock. "_Alohamora_," he cast, and the lock fell open in his hands.

"Maybe you shouldn't…"

James ignored Remus' words and thumbed through the pages excitedly, moving in a flurry of activity.

"What does it say?" asked Sirius curiously.

"Um…something about…eomething about...excitedly, moving in a flurry of activity.

rm…"

Sirius sighed in exasperation. "James, I am only going to say this once more. PUT ON YOUR DAMN GLASSES."

"I don't want to," pouted James plaintively. Sirius yanked the notebook from James' grip and flipped through the pages.

"So? What does it say?" pressed James.

"It says: 'It's time I came out and said it. I can't lie to myself anymore. It's time I admitted the truth both to myself and to the world. Here it goes. I am madly, obsessively in love with Sirius Black. It's not just his dashing good looks, or his extraordinary intellect, but more the general way he…"

"Oh it does not."

"Don't be jealous, James. I'm sure he's quite fond of you as well."

It was Remus who pulled the book away from him and started to read, all qualms about privacy easily forgotten. He frowned at the pages.

"It doesn't say anything."

"He's right," added Sirius. "It's just gibberish. It doesn't make any sense."

"Is it encoded?" asked James.

"Who encodes their own diary?"

"Well," added Remus. "It's either encoded or he's gone insane."

"Read it out to me," ordered James.

"You could read them to yourself," suggested Sirius, "if you weren't so bloody stubborn all the time."

"Just read."

"Fine, fine. Um…Levicorpus, Electrona, Disperdis, Sectusempra…"

James let out a bark of delighted laughter. "I know what those are! They're spells!"

"What?"

"Spells! It's a book of spells."

"No, it isn't. I've never heard any of them before."

"Really, Sirius? You think we're the only two people in this entire school who learned how to invent spells?"

"But what sort of spells would Snivellus create?" laughed Sirius. "A Hair Greasing Charm? A Spotty Face Hex? A Look Fabulous In An Old Smock Enchantment?"

"I guess we'll find out," declared James with a broad smile, sliding the book into his robe pocket. ." stubborn all the time."nd'from him and started to read, all qualms about privacy easily forgotten.

Sirius Black. It

Briskly, he turned and walked towards the passage way before turning back to face Peter, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"Peter?"

"Y…yes?"

"Here."

In a smooth motion, James tossed the chain to Peter, who fumbled to catch it, barely grabbing hold of it before it hit the ground. He gazed at the bracelet in wonderment, his fingers almost unconsciously tracing the shape of the crow.

"Why?" he asked in a whisper.

"You earned it," shrugged James. "Sort of."

With that, James sauntered into the wardrobe, as though he expected his friends to follow close behind. Peter looked dumbstruck.

"Why?" he asked again, the question directed at Remus and Sirius this time. They both shrugged.

"Are you coming?" came James' muffled voice from inside the cupboard. "I thought we were in a hurry."

They laughed and sighed and rolled their eyes, but they obeyed nonetheless, trailing behind James into the tiny space. When Sirius looked over at Peter, who was dawdling dwadling g behinames into the tiny space. When Sirius looked over at Peter, who was hesistating.

g the shape of the crow.

n lyibehind the group, he saw that his fist was clenched so tightly around the chain that his knuckles had turned white.

started Remus, but Sirius cut him ."g?" What else is there?"at Peter would be unable to hear. Sirius moved hing. Jam

Fifth year- The Animagus Drawing

_Suddenly uncomfortable with the jewellery around his wrist, Sirius yanked it from his skin and replaced it. His hand brushed against a piece of parchment, which he carefully withdrew. The aged drawing had faded slightly, although Peter must have preserved the pencil with some sort of spell. Sirius delicately traced the sketches, careful not to smudge the light marks into the page. He felt a sudden irrational urge to tear it up._

The grounds were filled with the sound of cruel, mocking laughter, high pitched and unpleasant. Sirius, attracted by the harsh sound, let himself be drawn closer, peering out to find the cause of the commotion. It was twilight, the sun just setting in the sky, and he found it difficult to see. However, he could clearly make out the huddle of students down by the lake, laughing manically. He made his way forwards, forcing a few of the smaller people out of the way in an effort to see better. What he saw made his face set with rage.

Peter, stripped down to his white boxers, was shaking as he waded up to his shins in the icy water. His back was turned to Sirius, but he was visibly terrified, his hands reaching around to grasp at his own sides. Behind Peter stood Snape, his dark hair greasy and shining in the dying light, the end of his wand prodding into Peter's fleshy back.

"Walk," ordered Snape. The watchers cheered him on, starting up a haunting chorus. _Walk, walk, walk, walk…_

"Severus…Severus, please…" Peter sounded as though he was crying, although he took a small step forwards further into the black water. He tensed suddenly, as though something had slid by his leg.

"Walk!" With a jab of his wand, he forced Peter onward, causing him to almost trip. _Right, _thought Sirius, _that's enough of that._

"_Levicorpus!" _With a roar of rage, Snape was hoisted into the air by his ankle, his robes falling back to display grey boxers. He tried to swivel around and find his assailant, but found that he couldn't.

"I think you've had quite enough fun, don't you?" asked Sirius silkily, weaving about to take a look at his victim. Snape's face flushed dark when he saw him.

"Black," he spat. Sirius disregarded him and strode towards the pile of black robes that belonged to Peter. Untangling them from each other, he chucked the bundle at his friend, who almost cried with relief as he clambered out of the dark water. Peter took a half step towards Snape, as though to say something to him, but quickly thought better of it and pulled the robes over his head.

"Not fun, is it?" asked Sirius to Snape. "Being picked on by someone bigger than you?"

Snape lashed out, but Sirius easily dodged, to the delight of the crowd. Where moments ago they had been cheering Snape on, they now cried out in happiness as he was punished. People, thought Sirius, were alarmingly fickle.

"He stole from me," snarled Snape. "He deserved it."

"Stole from you? Whatever could you mean?"

"You all stole from me! My spells, my crest, my broom! I know it's you!"

"Paranoia is unattractive,aranoia is unnattractive Snivells. For the record, so are grey underpants. I can't say I'm surprised Evans won't go for you."

Snape's face turned alarmingly dark as he reached out to claw and Sirius' face. Sirius sidestepped lazily, laughing.

"SIRIUS BLACK! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

The sound of his voice made Sirius tense up, squeezing his eyes shut. With a deep breath, he forced a smile onto his face and turned to face Jaime Kirk, the Gryffindor Prefect, who was charging towards him with fury in his eyes. The crowd quickly dissipated.

"Hello Kirk," Sirius greeted the sixth grader. "Lovely day, wouldn't you say?"

"Put that boy down. Put him down now!"

"Why? He's just hanging out." Sirius chuckled. "Get it? _Hanging _out?"

"Hilarious, Black. Now put him down before I get you expelled!"

"Do you even have that sort of authority?"

"Black!" Jaime's voice was steely and Sirius complied with a sigh.

"_Liberacorpus," _muttered Sirius with a wave of his wand, and Snape came crashing to the ground. The few remaining spectators laughed as he stumbled to his feet and tried to lunge at Sirius.

"Hey!" roared Kirk. "Break it up."

Snape stepped away, seething.

"Well," said Sirius after a tense silence. "This has been lovely. But I think that I'll just…" He started to slip away put found himself stopped by Kirk. He felt movement behind him and saw Peter sidle up beside him, fully dressed and still shaking.

"Where do you think you're going, Black?"

"I was going to dry my friend off after he was assaulted by that lunatic over there."

"Detention, Black. For the next week."

"How you underestimate me, Kirk. I'm already on detention this week."

"Fine. For the next three weeks."

"That's cute. I'm still on detention then."

still on detention then."eks."."ee weeks."s assaulted."k. He felt movement behind him and saw Peter sidle up beside him, full "Two months!"

"Keep trying."

"Three months!"

"Mmmm nope. Still on detention."

Kirk was practically frothing at the mouth. "Four months?"

"Oh ye of little faith."

"Fine!" roared Kirk. "Fine! Just get back inside, before I call the Headmaster."

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my shoes."

The crowd had vanished now, leaving only Sirius, Snape, Peter and Kirk by the lake. Peter was tugging at Sirius' sleeve, trying to get his attention.

"Come on, Sirius. Let's go inside."

Sirius started to turn away, but stopped short as Snape's spittle collided with the back of his head. He turned and started to dive towards Snape, vengeance in his eyes, but Kirk's voice stopped him.

"Go ahead, Black. Do it. See what happens then."

Snape smirked as Sirius watched him with hatred. Once again, Peter pulled at Sirius' robes.

"Come on, Sirius. Please."

Sirius didn't take his eyes from Snape's face, his breath heavy with anger. "Fine," he whispered, his entire body tense. As he turned away, he noticed a flicker of movement beside him. Peter had reached into the pocket of his robes and nonchalantly dropped a piece of parchment to Snape's feet. Spinning as though he hadn't noticed it, Peter started to walk towards the castle. Sirius, not even stopping to shoot a sharp look at Snape, started to follow him.

"Peter…"

"Yes?"

"Peter, you dropped…"

"I know. It was nothing."

Sirius sped up as they reached the front door, grabbing Peter's arm so that he was forced to slow down. "Stop walking, Wormy. What did you drop?"

Peter blinked up at his friend. "I...I…it was nothing."

Sirius fumed as Peter slipped by him, traipsing after his down the halls. "Peter, I know there was something important on that piece of paper. Now, either you tell me, or I'll go and ask Snape myself. So why don't you save us both a lot of grief and spit it out."

Peter gnawed at his lip, looking cornered. "It was nothing. It was just a…a map."

"A map?"

"Yeah. Like I said. Nothing."

"Our map?" Sirius's voice rose. "The Marauder's Map?"

"Of course not. You have that, don't you?"

Sirius touched his pocket, where the map was still. He breathed out it relief." Thank god for that. What was it then?"

Peter sighed, relenting. "The map to Remus' shack, the way through the willow."

"Wh-_what_?" coughed Sirius, his face draining of colour.

"I…I had to, Sirius! You don't understand what it's been like, ever since we took that stupid bracelet. He plays with me, tortures me like I'm some sort of doll or pet. He knows I'm the weakest of the three of us, that's why he does these things to me. You have no idea what it's like to be so scared all the time. It's awful, Sirius. It's so, so awful. Don't you think he deserves some sort of punishment? Some sign that he can't do whatever the hell he wants to me?"

"Peter, it's the full moon tonight." Sirius remained surprisingly calm.

"It'll give him a scare, that's all. Just one good scare, so he knows that he can't mess with us."

"Peter, he'll die."

"No, he won't! I mean, we've been down there plenty of times, remember! Even that first time, when we had no idea what Remus really was."

"We haven't been down there in human form though. Not since he ripped the chains off the walls."

"They really should replace those."

"Peter! Are you not understanding what I'm saying to you? I know you don't like the slimy git, and I can't say I disagree with you, but you can't just send him towards certain death just because he played a couple of pranks on you!"

"Please, Sirius. Forget I said anything."

"Yeah, sure, of course. I'll just forget that one of our classmates is going to be mauled by our best friend and buried in several sandwich bags, since they won't find a piece of him large enough to put in a coffin. Easy peasy."

"That was graphic. Lavender," added Peter as he passed the Fat Lady, who snorted at him in greeting. The two of them climbed through the portrait hole, Sirius getting more and more worked up as he walked.

"Peter, you can't do things like this. I understand where you're coming from, really I do, but it's far too dangerous."

"It's fine, Sirius." Peter looked far from fine, pink-faced and panicked as he fought to control his rapid breathing

"If he dies and it's our fault…" Peter said nothing. "Are you going to keep ignoring me? Or would you like me to get you a pair of earmuffs from the Mandrake Plantation to make it easier for you?"

"If you do, make sure they're pink and fluffy." James appeared beside them as if from nowhere, beaming. "What are you two arguing about then?"

"Nothing," answered Sirius, shooting Peter a warning look. "What have you been up to?"

"Quidditch. You mark my words, Padfoot, I will be Captain next year if it kills me. I'm done with being told what to do by people less talented than I am."

"Poor Prongs. That must be the story of your life."

"Indeed. What' s wrong with you, Pettigrew?"

Peter was white in the face, glancing nervously from Sirius to James. He opened and shut his mouth several times, searching for an answer, and Sirius quickly cut in.

"Nothing. He's feeling a bit sick."

"Oh really? What's wrong?"

Peter glanced at Sirius, his face contorted pleadingly. "Sirius, I have to tell him."

irius, I have to."rius, his face contorted pleadingly. "us to James. He opened and shut his mouth several times, searching for "Peter…" warned Sirius.

"What's he on about?" asked James, confused, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Nothing," answered Sirius with a glare.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," whined Peter. James looked at him, then back at Sirius.

"Sirius, what is he talking about?"

"I gave Snape the map to Remus' shack!" Peter blurted out. James paused for a moment, staring at him, before bursting into laughter.

"Yeah, right. Good one." It took him a moment to take note of his friends' faces. Once more, he turned towards Sirius. "He's joking, right? Tell me he's joking." Peter and Sirius just looked at each other and James' eyes widened. "You…what the hell did you do, Pettigrew?" Peter had already started to tremble as James turned on him.

Sirius made his decision in a matter of seconds. "I did it," he announced. James turned to him, confused.

"You what?"

Peter was looking at him, equally awed and confused. Sirius offered him a slight wink that James didn't see. "I did it. Peter's just sticking up for me, but I'm the one who slipped the map to Severus."

"But…why?"

"You should have seen what he did to Peter."

James gaped at him. "Tell me you're joking."

"He _spat_ at me."

"I don't care if he forced you to strip naked and do a dance for him, you don't give him the map! What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you ever think about your friends?"

Sirius stepped back, confused. "What do you mean?"

"They'll kick him out!"

"Snape? No they won't. I mean, he might get a telling off for being out after dark, but…"

"_I'm talking about Remus!"_ James' words were partway through a hiss and a yell, forcing Sirius back with their venom. His eyes were dark with fury.

"What?"

"You think if Snape sees Remus, he's just going to keep quiet about it?"

"No one will believe him…"

"And if he brings them down there? Do you think any parents will want to send their kid somewhere where there's a…"James caught himself just in time and lowered his voice. "furry little problem running around?"

"But…"

"Do you think the Headmaster will hesitate for a second to kick Remus out of school when the owls start coming? And what's he going to do then? He'll be by himself with no future and no prospects at all. Why the hell would you do that to him, Sirius?"

"I'm sorry, I…"

James thrust his hand expectantly towards Sirius, who simply looked at him blankly. "The Map!" snapped James and Sirius compliantly withdrew the Marauder's map from his pocket and placed it in his friend's hand. James flung it open, almost tearing it in his haste, and peered down at the writing. His fingers traced the school until he found S. Snape: the dot was slowly drifting towards the Whomping Willow, making steady progress over the parchment. James swore.

"See? He's going down there already!"

James bounded to his feet and raced up the stairs towards the dormitory, Sirius and Peter in hot pursuit.

"What does it matter?" asked Peter anxiously. "Remus isn't even down there."

James tipped his trunk upside down as he reached his bed, letting all of his belongings clatter to the ground. "Do you see him anywhere around here?"

Sirius frowned. "Remus never transforms without us."

"He was feeling a bit off, so he thought his transformation would be harder this month. He wanted to do it himself so he asked me if we could come and join him a little later. I was going to tell you guys, but when you didn't come back…"

Glancing outside, Sirius registered the darkness with a numb dread. "So, Remus has already transformed?"

"And Snape's on a one way street towards an angry wolf with no chains." James threw a book across the room in a sudden flare of anger. "Where the hell is my broomstick?"

"Right next to you, James, I'm looking right at it."

"Oh. Right. Okay, you grab yours."

"Why are we flying?"

"So we can stop Snape before he gets to Remus, that's why."

Sirius sped to his bed and grabbed the old broomstick he kept around for practising with James. Seeing Peter watching them from his own bed, he called out to him.

"Peter, get your broom."

"Oh, I…I don't have it anymore."

"What do you mean, you don't have it? How could you not have it?"

"I was upset, one night, and I just grabbed a pair of…never mind. It doesn't matter."

Sirius wanted to continue the conversation, but James had already made his way over to the large dormitory window and was standing on the ledge, straddling his broomstick.

large dormitory window and was standing on the ledge, straddling his to theeeing Peter watching them from his own "Black, are you coming?" James voice was cold, but he waited.

"Yeah." He turned to Peter, who had sat himself down on his bed. "Peter, stay here, okay? We'll be back soon." Peter nodded nervously, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

When Sirius turned back to the window, James was gone. Steeling himself, Sirius ran headlong to the open ledge, broomstick in hand, dove into empty air and mounted.

Sirius had never been the most confident flyer. Where James moved with a simple agility and skill, Sirius was clumsy and unsure, often on the verge of falling off. In the darkness, Sirius could only just make out James' silhouette as he darted through the sky towards the towering tree. Peering down, he also managed to see Snape's figure, slowly moving towards the willow, hardly distinguishable in the gloom. Beneath Sirius' rapidly adjusting gaze, Snape reached the tree only minutes before James would, grasped some sort of long branch and prodded what was presumably the knot at the base of the tree. The branches stayed frozen, even when he stepped upon their roots.

"James!" yelled Sirius. Snape looked up momentarily before turning back to his task, probably thinking he had heard nothing more than an echo in the wind. "James, he's going inside!"

James didn't answer, but he clearly heard, as he nosedived into the path of the tree. Sirius followed suit, plunging through the air although his stomach gargled in protest. As he plummeted towards the ground, he watched Snape slowly disappear from view among the roots; first his head sunk through the ground, then his shoulders, then his torso…

James, shooting down from the air, grabbed Snape by his robes and yanked him from the tunnel. Still astride his broomstick, he dragged the boy across the roots, making sure he hit every one. The two of them tumbled out onto the grass rolling in the dirt until them came to a stop, panting for breath. Sirius, pleased with his own flying ability, alighted lightly next to them.

Snape had gotten to his feet and thrown himself atop the sprawled James, punching and kicking every inch of him he could reach. Sirius, without thinking, smacked him smartly on the back of the head with his broomstick. Snape fell back, stunned.

"What the hell, Snivellus? James just saved your life!" spat Sirius, although his words fell on deaf ears.

"I knew it!" Snape looked quite mad, the white of his eyes gleaming in the night. "I knew something was wrong with that boy! I said and said, but no one every listened, but now…" Peals of hysterical laughter streamed out between his words. "You all be out of here, Potter! First the wolf, then the lot of you for collaborating with them! Oh, I have you now, Potter, I have you!"

James, who had risen neatly to his feet, reached out and punched Snape directly in the nose, which splintered with a loud crack. Snape fell back once more, and Sirius considered catching him before simply taking a step out of the way.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said James softly. Snape hauled himself to his feet, terrifying and unhinged. Bubbles of blood and saliva pooled in his mouth, his hooked nose crumpled against his face, his skin a sickly grey in the moonlight. His black eyes were barely slits.

"Oh really, Potter? And who's going to stop me? You think you and your little friends can get away with anything that strikes your fancy, well not anymore! How long do you think it'll take them to throw the dog out? A week? A day? An hour?"

James didn't react and Sirus backed away, sensing trouble. As he approached Snape with silent steps, his voice remained calm and steady. "Oh, I wouldn't do that, Snape. You see, you owe me. I just saved your life, which places you in my debt. And I intend to collect. Take a moment, Snivels, and think how miserable I've made your life until now. The pranks, the thefts, those little things that go wrong and you're never quite sure it was us, although you suspect it. I did those things for amusement. Now, imagine what I can do to you if I want to hurt you, _really _hurt you. I can ruin you. I can break you."

Sirius slipped away from the conversation before he could hear Snape's reply. He hated this side of James which so rarely came out, hated the cold eyes and the cruel smile. But it got results, at least. Snape wouldn't betray them, not now.

Allowing himself to relax into his dog form, Sirius padded over the still roots of the willow and slid down the tunnel to meet his friend below, who was busy tearing plaster from the wall with his teeth.

…..

When Remus opened his eyes, scratched and bitten and naked beneath a woollen blanket, he found himself watched by three beady pairs of eyes; a chestnut stag with golden antlers, a large black dog with gleaming teeth, and a small grey rat with tiny pink eyes. As he watched , they slowly morphed back into his friends, who looked at him with exhausted faces.

"Well," said James after a moment. "What a night."

Remus flushed. "Did I do something bad? I did, didn't I? It was a really bad transformation, I'm glad you weren't here…"

"You nearly took Snivellus' head off."

"_What_?"

"You didn't, though," added Sirius. "So it's okay really."

"How? How did he get down here? How did he even know how to get past the tree?"

James looked at Sirius. Sirius looked at Peter. Peter answered. "It's a long story and it doesn't matter now. James took care of it."

"He did?" asked Remus in surprise.

"I'll try not to be crushed by your disbelief."

"You don't seem like someone who'd be good at dealing with Snape. Aside from cursing him, of course."

"Have a little faith. Put some clothes on, Moony, the day's about to start."

Sirius crossed over to the hallway to collect Remus' robes, throwing them towards his friend. As he did so, a small square page of parchment fell out of the robe pocket and fell to the floor. Remus sprung to catch it, but Sirius was faster.

"What is this?" teased Sirius. "A love letter?"

"Sirius, come on. Give it back."

James found his glasses and slid them back on. "A diary page perhaps."

"This isn't funny."

"Radiant as you look in that blanket, Moony, perhaps you should put some clothes on."

James and Peter stepped in closer as Sirius unravelled the parchment, showing a charcoal drawing traced with such skill that, had it been moving, he could have mistaken it for a photograph.

There were four figures curled up together: a stag, a dog, a rat and a wolf. But there was more than that. Somehow, the animals' faces seemed more human than possible, personalities inscribed on their features. The stag, who had the word_ Prongs_ written across its chest, looked haughtily out of the paper, looking powerful and strong. The dog, with the word _Padfoot_ arched around his head, looked bored and calm, one eye looking ahead and another fixed on something in the distance. The rat, labelled _Wormtail_, looked down shyly, nestled behind the stag and the dog. The wolf simply stared at nothing, his face almost blocked by the large letters spelling the word _Moony_. James looked up first.

"Prongs?" he asked, pointing at the picture of himself. "Why prongs?"

Remus looked down, embarrassed. "You know, Prongs. Like a fork. Because of the antlers."

"It's better than forkface," grinned James. "I'll take it."

Sirius handed the picture to Peter, who's eyes were still glued to it. "That's really good, Remulued to it. ter, who'f the antlers." blocked by the large letters spelling the word the word ehow, the animas."

"Nah, it's not."

James watched Remus with a curious expression on his face. "You really are something, you know that Moony?"

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not quite sure. But it felt right."

Sirius glanced away just in time to see Peter slip the piece of parchment under his shirt, tucking it into his trouser waistband. James and Remus, who were too busy laughing at the idea of Remus attacking Snape, never noticed.

How did he even know how to get past the tree."h tiny pink eyes. As he watched , they slowly morphed back into his friends, who

tell would yoforced you to strip naked and do a dance for him. Why teh ursting into laughter.

l die."he'er, stop panicking over any repercussions?" at what he did to you today? Do you th

Sixth year- The Lost Letter

_As Sirius slid the drawing back into the box, a second piece of parchment caught his eye. Pulling it free, he unfolded the piece of paper and scanned the first line in Peter's shaky writing: "_Dear James"_. In his haste to fold the paper, he almost ripped it in half. He knew what the letter contained. It was not for him to see._

"Hey Evans."

The beautiful redhead turned to give a distasteful glare to James, who was seated in the plush armchair facing the fire, writing his history essay without even glancing at the page. "Potter," she said in a cold greeting, before continuing on to sit in a far off corner by herself. Sirius, seated beside James, gave him a sharp nudge.

"Nice one, James."

"Shut up. She's succumbing to my charm."

"I think she'll succumb to old age first."

"Oh really?" asked James with a challenge in his eyes.

"No, James. I didn't mean it. Don't go over there. James!"

It was too late. James had risen from his chair and marched over to the chair where Lily was sitting. As she looked up at him, unimpressed, Sirius lowered his head into his hands.

"Hey, Evans," repeated James, leaning against the wall in a manner he clearly thought was seductive. Sirius banged his head against his palm again and again.

"What do you want, Potter?"

"What a charming greeting. I feel so wanted."

"I'm busy."

"Would you like to see some magic?" The question finally made Lily look up, although it made Sirius groan inwardly.

"What?"

"Do you want to see some magic?"

"Potter, we go to Hogwarts. If I want to see some magic, I can take a single step outside."

"I don't mean that sort of magic. I mean _magic _magic."

Lily looked interested, although she tried to hide it. "What are you talking about?"

James reached out and opened his hand, which was clearly empty. "See? There's nothing in my hand."

"You are indeed the master magician of our time."

Disregarding her comment, James leaned in close to Lily, so close it looked as though their lips were going to brush. Sirius almost expected Lily to lean away, but she didn't, her eyes fixed steadily on James'. As Sirius watched, a growing grin appearing on his face, James reached behind her ear, tucking a piece of auburn hair behind her ear, and mimed plucking something from behind it. When he pulled his hand away, there was a lily in his palm, white and delicate.

"Look what was behind your ear." He lifted her hand from her lap, opened her hand, placed the flower on her palm and closed her grip around the flower. Lily looked up at him.

"I've missed that kind of magic."

"In the kingdom of the wands, the sleight of hand is king."

Lily suddenly shook her head as though to clear it and narrowed her eyes at James. "I'm not going out with you, Potter."

"Someone's got a big head. I don't recall even asking you."

Lily blushed visibly. "Good. Because I won't go."

"Well, I'm glad we sorted that out. I'll see you later," laughed James, turning away from Lily, who watched him go for a moment.

"Is she watching me leave?" James asked Sirius quietly as he arrived at the chair.

"Yep."

"Nailed it."

"Fine, fine. I'll give. You're good."

James flashed a brilliant smile. "I know. I'm the master. Now, I have Quidditch practise. See you James. See you Wormtail."

Sirius turned around in surprised to see Peter jump. He hadn't even noticed the boy sitting beside him. As James stepped out of the room, Sirius turned to talk to Peter, noticing his gaze burn into Lily, who was looking at the flower in her hand. An odd mixture of desire and jealousy was reflected in Peter's eyes. It took Sirius no more than a moment to put two and two together.

"Peter!" Peter jumped again at Sirius' voice, wrenching his eyes away from Lily.

"Yes, Sirius?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Shoot."

"Not here."

Without waiting for permission, Sirius grabbed Peter's wrist and dragged him up the stairs towards the empty dormitory. Peter pulled his arm back and rubbed his sore wrist.

"What's wrong, Sirius?"

Sirius considered dancing about the subject, but decided to come straight out and say it. "I know about your crush."

"W-w-what?" stammered Peter, his face turning white, then red, then purple. His eyes darted about the room as though he was searching for an escape route. Sirius stepped in front of his gaze.

"It's okay, Peter. Stop panicking."

"I-I-I…don't know what you're talking about. I don't…I can't…" It had been a long time since Peter had choked on his words in such a way.

"Peter, it's okay. I understand."

Peter blinked up at him. "So, you don't hate me?"

"Hate you? Of course I don't hate you. You're only human."

"James would hate me."

"No he wouldn't." Sirius paused. "Okay, well he wouldn't be _happy _with you per se. But he wouldn't hate you."

Peter sank down on the bed, his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do, Sirius. It's so awful. He's always chasing her, always thinking about her, always talking to her. And I can't stand it."

Sirius placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's okay. You just…you can't act on it. You know that, right?"

Peter snorted. "Yeah, I don't think James would take that too well."

"Yeah, probably not." He crouched down so that he could better look at Peter's face. "Stop worrying, okay? It happens to everyone. I mean, even I've had thoughts like that. It's only natural."

Peter could not have looked more shocked. "_You_? But…but James is your best friend!"

"Sure. It doesn't make me a bad person. It makes me a guy. I mean, come on. Lily's stunning."

"_Lily?"_ Peter's sounded shocked.

"Yeah, Lily. You were talking about Lily, weren't you?"

"Oh…I…of course. Lily. Of course." Peter struggled to form a sentence as Sirius' eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my god."

"No!" cried Peter miserably. "No, no. No, you don't understand."

"Merlin's beard!"

"Sirius, I'll can explain."

"_James_?" asked Sirius incredulously. "Really? James, of all people?"

Peter looked as though he would gladly end his life then and there. "Please don't hate me, Sirius."

Sirius flopped down on the bed opposite Peter, dazed. "Just…just give me a second to process this."

"You must hate me. I never meant for anyone to find out. I didn't want this to mess up any of our friendship. You don't understand, I won't ever say anything. I don't want James to hate me too…"

"Peter, I…"

"If I had any idea you were talking about Lily, I swear I never would have…I never wanted to put you in this position, none of you. You were never supposed to find out."

"I don't…"

"I'll leave. I mean, not Hogwarts, obviously, but I'll stay away from you and James and even Remus. I'll give you all space. I completely understand if you don't want to see me or talk to me. Like I said, I never wanted you to find out, especially not like this. I'm so, so sorry." Peter was starting to babble, his face turning redder and redder.

"You don't need to be sorry, Wormtail," said Sirius quietly. The initial shock was wearing off and he felt nothing but pure confusion.

"Please don't tell James."

"No of course not." Sirius shook his head. "Not that he'd stop hanging out you or anything," he added hurriedly. "It's just…things might be weird."

"No, I know."

"I mean, it's James."

"No, I know. I get it."

Sirius got to his feet unsteadily, his mind racing. "I…I have potions."

"Right. Of course. Sirius…"

"No, no, it's fine. Let's just…it's fine."

Sirius grabbed his backpack and made his way towards the door, turning back to look at a still mortified Peter, who looked on the brink of tears.

"Peter, I…" Peter looked up, his pale eyes shining in the light. "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Yeah. Right. Later."

Sirius turned and quickly left the room, unsure what to do. He strode out of the common room and into the hallway, so distracted by his own thoughts that he collided with a pretty Ravenclaw girl he'd met a couple of times, Holly Weathers.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled, trying to get past her.

"Sirius!" she cried delightfully. Her eyelashes began to bat in a manner that was almost frightening. "It's been so long."

"Yeah, it has. Sorry, Hols, I've got to get to class."

She practically swooned when he called her 'Hols'. "Yeah, I'm sure you do. Everyone says you're, like, super smart. Like top of the class."

"Um…no, I don't think."

She waved his protests away. "No, it's totally true. I know because I was talking to Mindy, who heard from India, whose dad works in…"

"That's fascinating," interrupted Sirius. "But I really have to go." He moved to walk away from her before he was struck by a sudden idea and turned back. "Holly?" he called out to the girl. She turned so quickly that he momentarily thought she might have given herself whiplash.

"Yes?"

"You know Peter, don't you?"

"Peter…" she seemed to be trying to remember.

"Pettigrew."

"Oh yes. That little boy you hang out with. I remember him, he's the one who killed all the nifflers in Care of Magical Creatures."

"Yeah, that's him. What do you think of him?"

"I don't know. He's sweet enough, I suppose. Why?"

"I think the two of you would make a lovely couple."

Holly looked doubtful. "Peter and me? Really?"

"Trust me, he's a wonderful guy once you get to know him. Really great. You should ask him out."

"I don't know, he's not really my type."

"Well, I know what I'm talking about, and believe me when I say that you and Peter would make a fantastic couple. He'd treat you like a queen."

"You think?"

"I know."

Holly still looked a little hesitant, but she complied. "Alright. I'll ask him today then."

"Excellent."

"But do you think maybe you and I could one day…"

"Is that the time? I really have to dash. But thanks for this, Hols, you won't regret it. I promise."

Sirius stalked off to transfiguration class, leaving a perplexed Holly behind him. His lips were bared in a smug, self-satisfied smile.

…..

James and Sirius both stared at the textbook before them, their brows creased in confusion. After a few moments of silence, Sirius turned to look at James.

"Does this make any sense to you?"

"None."

"Well, it must be trying to say something."

James read aloud. "_Change is usually associated with both life and death in dreaming. Representations of these in any form of dreaming can represent either change, or a lack thereof, in the life of the dreamer, someone close to the dreamer or even a complete stranger in their lives."_

"So basically, seeing either life or death can represent change or no change in the life of absolutely anyone."

"That seems to be the gist, yes."

yes."ems to be the gistath can represent change or no change in the life of absolutely anyone." dreaner dreaming "Remind me why we take this stupid subject."

"We thought divination would be a bludge. Never have we been so wrong."

They were interrupted by Peter, who had slammed the portrait open with a loud thump that attracted the attention of most of the common room and stormed over to where James and Sirius were seated.

"Sirius," greeted Peter sharply, his eyes boring into him. "Can I speak with you for a second?"

James looked up, interested. "What's this about?"

"I have a small bone to pick with Sirius," answered Peter, his gaze never wavering from his friend's face. "Come have a chat."

James got to his feet, but Sirius shook his head. "I think this is just between Peter and me, James."

James protested, but Sirius led Peter to a secluded corner of the common room, turning the corner so that they were out of sight of the rest of the room.

"What's wrong?" asked Sirius, met with Peter's steely gaze.

"Did you tell Holly Weathers to ask me out?"

"Well, I may have suggested it in passing. What's the matter with that? I thought you'd be pleased."

"Pleased? Why would you think I'd be pleased?"

Sirius sighed. "Peter, don't you think things are hard enough?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you already get picked on, Peter. You already have all these problems, things are always so difficult for you. Do you really need this as well?"

Peter said nothing for an uncomfortably long period of time, staring at Sirius. "I don't want you to change me, Sirius. You won't change me."

"I don't want to change you…"

"Yes, you do. You want me to prance about with some bimbo like Holly Weathers on my arm, pretending to be something I'm not, just because it'll make life a little easier for you. You want me to be different."

"This isn't about me…"

"Of course it is. You don't want to be friends with someone like me. And that's fine, Sirius, if that's how you feel. I'm not going to change your mind about it. But don't pretend you like me and send girls to ask me out and fix me, or whatever. Just don't."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, neither did I. But I'm not going to change or lie just to make you more comfortable and no about of pretty girls are going to change what I am. I'm not going to tell, Sirius, especially not James. You don't have to worry. No one will know what I really am, and your reputation can stay squeaky clean. Well, not really. But you know what I mean." For a minute, Sirius just looked at Peter with large sad eyes.

"I just want you to be okay."

"I gave you an out. Take it. I won't think less of you if you don't want to be friends with me."

"I do!"

"Sirius, don't feel like you have to…"

Sirius did the only thing he could think of to make Peter listen to him. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against Peter's, only for a second, but so forcefully that Peter took a step backwards.

"Wh…Wha…?"

"Do remember that day three years ago when you came down to breakfast and found that we'd already talked to Remus about his problem?"

"Yeah."

"Before you came down, when we first told him we knew, Remus thought we'd hate him. He thought he'd lose all his friends if they found out the truth. Now tell me the truth. Did you want to give up on Remus because of what he was?"

"No!" exclaimed Peter defensively. "Okay, maybe a little," he admitted when Sirius raised an eyebrow. "But it was only at first, when we were down in that shack and we realised what he really was."

"But did you?"

"Of course not. He's Remus. He's ours."

"Exactly. You, me, James, Remus…we're brothers. We're there for each other. I'm sorry, I was taken aback. You just…you took me by surprise. That doesn't mean I'm going to turn my back on you. Okay?" He held out his hand to shake. "Brothers?"

"Brothers," answered Peter smilingly, grasping Sirius' hand.

"I'm sorry about Holly. I'll call her off."

"Actually, it might not be the worst idea."

Sirius was cut off halfway through his questioning "What?" when James materialised, turning the corner.

"What are you two doing? Meeting to discuss your secret love?"

Peter laughed uneasily, but Sirius didn't even crack a smile. "Shut up, James."

"Easy there," remarked James, holding his hands up in surrender. "Bouts of unprovoked anger. That could be a sign of impending doom or impending success."

"What do you want, James?"

"Well, I'd like you to come back and explain to me how the hell I'm supposed to see something inside a ball of crystal."

"Well, I'm actually talking to Wormy…"

"It's fine," interjected Peter. "Go. I've got work to do as well."

"Peter."

"It's fine," said Peter again, and with that he turned on his heel and walked out into the main common room. James looked at Sirius.

"What's up with him?"

"Nothing earth-shattering."

"Ah. In that case, shall we go divine? Or are we going to stay huddled in this suspicious corner forever?"

Sirius followed James into the common room, towards the stacks of work waiting for them. The entire evening, Peter refused to meet his eye.

….

That night, after hours of sleeplessness, Sirius crept downstairs to sit by the dying fire. He was surprised to see that he wasn't the only one with the same idea; Peter was also crouched beside the mantelpiece, when the fire, instead of dying out, was roaring. Sirius approached to see him slip pieces of parchment into the flames.

"What are you doing?" asked Sirius, causing Peter to leap to his feet in shock.

"Sirius? What are you doing down here, it's nearly midnight."

"I couldn't sleep. What are you doing?"

"I…nothing."

"What are you burning?" He approached his friend. "Peter, what is that."

"It's nothing." In one sudden movement, he thrust all the bunches of paper into the fire and watched them burn black.

"Peter, are you okay?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

Sirius crept closer, bending down to pick up a single piece of parchment from the ground, one which had escaped from Peter's grip.

"Don't read it!" yelled Peter suddenly.

"Okay. Just tell me what it is."

"It's nothing. It's just a letter." Heh ust a letter."e what it is."wn to pick up a single piece of parchment from the ground, one which had escaped from Peter' looked up to examine Sirius' face. Seeing no signs of any anger or shame in his friend's face, he continued. "A letter…for James."

"I see."

"I'm just kidding myself. I wrote them ages ago, back when I thought there was a chance he could love me back. But I was just being stupid. Even if he wasn't madly in love with Lily Evans…there's no chance. None. So why would I even bother?"

Sirius looked down at the folded piece of paper in his hands. "Don't burn this."

"What?"

"These letters…they're part of you. Keep them. Or this one, at least."

"What's the point?"

"I don't know. But I don't want you burning something precious to you just so that you can seem better to other people. If you don't want to tell James, that's fine. But down burn things that matter to you. Please Peter."

He slipped the paper into Peter's grip and after a hesitation, Peter slid it into his pocket.

"Thanks, Sirius," he whispered.

"Don't mention it. Now get to bed, you idiot, it's late."

Sirius accompanied Peter back to the dormitory, turning back for a second to look at Peter's words of love crumpling and burning into nothingness inside the hissing fire.

Seventh year- The Steel Knife

_Sirius yanked his hand back as his fingers brushed against something cool and metal. Peering down, he saw what had touched him and shuddered in revulsion and horror. It was a long thin knife, solid steel with a silver hilt, metal vines twisting around it. Hesitating for a moment, he reached down and picked it up, letting it gleam in the light. Was he imagining it or was that dried blood on the blade?_

"Right, well I'm off." James strutted down into the common room in new shining robes, his hair expertly gelled to stick up, his glasses polished and lopsided to perfection. Sirius looked up at him from where he was sitting, carving his initials into the front cover of his textbook.

"Where are you going?"

James' smirk could not have been smugger if he tried. "I'm going out with Evans."

"That's nice."

Peter and Remus both glanced up as well from their piles of schoolwork. "James," warned Remus. "We have exams tomorrow. Are you sure you want to go out tonight?"

"I don't need to pass my exams. Evans is my future."

"That was dramatic."

"I mean it. I'm going to marry that girl, you mark my words."

"That's lovely, James. Now shove off."

James turned to look at Peter who was hunched over and almost hidden behind a potions textbook. "Hey, Wormy. Maybe you and I could double date? Evans and I, You and Holly? What do you say?"

"I…I'm not seeing Holly anymore."

"Oh why?" James didn't wait for an answer. "Well, I'm off. Not going to keep the love of my life waiting."

Sirius turned to look at Peter, who looked visibly crushed. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on the pages before him, and his eyes were looking suspiciously watery.

"James, shut up," said Sirius half-jokingly.

"Just become you're alone."

Peter hunched further over, his nose almost touching the page.

"Off you go, Prongs."

"Fine. See you single guys later." James offered them a crooked smile and turned to sashay out of the common room. Sirius cleared his throat, starting to speak, but James suddenly manifested before them once again.

"I thought you were leaving," remarked Remus.

"Look, Lils and I are sneaking out to Hogsmeade. Why don't you come along?"

"We have to study."

"Ah, no you don't. Exams are easy, it's all stuff that you already know. Come on, come out and have a little fun."

"James, we can't." It was Peter who spoke this time. "There's so much to do before tomorrow."

"Don't be such a stick in the mud."

"I'd like to, really…"

James scoffed. "Pathetic. Can't even sneak out for a single evening. God, Peter, have a bit of fun."

"I can't…"

"Fine, fine. You back to your work and enjoy your miserable little existence. I'm going to have some fun. Sirius? Remus?"

"SHUT UP!" Peter roared, drawing the eye of every Gryffindor in the common room. "Shut up, James! I'm done with you thinking that everyone needs to do whatever you tell them exactly when you say it."

"Merlin, calm down. Can you ever do anything without making it a big deal?"

"Not everyone is as bloody good at everything as you are, okay? You can't just expect us all to be like you!"

"I can't help it if you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous! I just can't stand you flaunting everything in my face all the time! Lily, your grades, your broom…I'm sick of it, James. You're an arrogant prick. Everyone thinks it, but no one has the guts to say it."

"Sick of it, are you? Well you're still here. You're always here, trailing after us. You know why we let you stay? Out of pity. You don't have any friends apart from us, do you? No one really wants you. Do they?"

"You're a bully. That's all you are, a big bully who does nothing but push people around to feel better about yourself. You're an ass, James Potter, and no one tell you that enough!"

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, unsure what to do. Peter had never spoken like this in his life, and even James looked taken aback. In the years they'd been friends, Sirius had never seen Peter angry. It was equally scary and endearing, the tiny boy hurling meaningless insults at the invincible, impregnable James Potter.

e an ass, James Potter, and no one tell you that enough!"ee gits to say it.. You don'your parents, do you realise? Why would yo

"Fine, then." James' voice went quiet, little over a whisper. This was the voice he used only when he was seething with rage. "Stay here, why don't you. Be the boring nothing you would have been had I not come along. I made you, Peter. You were _nothing_ before I met you. You're still nothing."

Peter looked as though he was going to cry. "I am not nothing," he whispered.

"Aren't you?" asked James, his voice spiky and cruel. He turned away from Peter and looked at Sirius, his eyes intense and slightly imploring. "Sirius? Are you coming?"

Sirius looked from Peter to James, torn. His eyes met James' and Sirius saw the harsh look in James' eyes. His friend needed him.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he said quietly. Remus started to stand up, before sitting down again, picking up his books. Peter buried his head in his essays. As James and Sirius swept from the room, James still quietly fuming, Sirius made an effort not to look back.

….

"Hey Remus."

It was nearly nightfall, and Sirius had returned, laden down with bags from Honeyduke's and Zonko's. He'd felt it was probably wise to leave James and Lily alone at the end of the evening, and had gone to the common room, from where Remus hadn't moved all evening. He hadn't even changed seats.

"Oh, hey. Where's James."

"With Lily somewhere."

Remus sniggered knowingly. "Of course he is." Reaching out, he relieved Sirius of several of his bags of sweets and began to happily much away. "Good evening?"

"Alright. She's a nice girl, that Lily."

"That she is. I still can't believe James got her."

"Well, persistence pays off. Plus, he stopped hexing her when she arrived in the common room. I think that might have helped."

"Yeah, it wasn't the smoothest means of seduction."

"How's studying?" Remus pulled a face. "That bad, huh?"

"Let's just say I'm glad I have no career dreams. Because they would currently be shattered."

"So you have no ideas about what you want to do?"

"Nah, not really. Maybe I'll be some sort of wolf whisperer or something. What about you?"

"I'll probably be an auror."

"With James?"

"I guess. At least then, I'll actually be doing something, you know? Something useful and interesting."

"And dangerous of course."

"Of course. Hey, where's Peter?"

Remus glanced about the common room. "Yeah, where is Peter?"

"He was with you."

"He was sort of upset after you and James left. I think he might have gone to be alone or something."

"All his books are here."

"Like I said, he was upset. I don't study when I'm upset, do you?"

"We should find him."

"Yeah, you should. He's probably okay though."

"I said we."

"Come on, Sirius. NEWTs tomorrow! Not just exams, NEWTs. I mean, I know you ace every exam you ever sit, but some of us actually have to work."

"I have a bad feeling about Peter. Come on, just take a ten minute break to help me find him and you can go back to the fascinating things you're doing."

"Sirius…"

"Please, Moony? Come on, think of what I had to go through to spend time with you. You can take ten minutes to help find one of our best friends."

"I think you already played that card to get the last muffin this morning."

"Did I mention that I used to be afraid of wolves? But I got over that. For you."

"That is ridiculously untrue."

"Fair enough. But I cared enough to lie. Doesn't that mean anything?"

"Fine. But I'm blaming you when I end up homeless and broke."

"Please do."

The two of them split up, Remus investigating the common room and the dormitory while Sirius searched outside. He searched through the empty classrooms and Peter's other favourite haunts. He made his way down to the grounds and searched the open space, even making his way over to the Quidditch pitch, despite the fact that he hadn't seen Peter down there in years. After about forty minutes of searching, he found himself outside the Gryffindor common room once more. The bathroom sign caught his eyes just before he walked in, and he turned to push open the door, calling our Peter's name hopefully as he did so.

The first thing he saw was blood. Pools of dark, sticky liquid covered the floor in viscous puddles. The bathroom gleamed white and clean, stained with crimson streaks. Sirius' entire body went numb.

"Peter?" he asked, his voice choked. He wasn't sure why. The blood could have belonged to anyone. Taking care not to step between the puddles, he made his was further into the bathroom, following the trail of blood. It stopped outside the second cubicle. Unaware of his own movements, Sirius walked up to it. Swallowing a mixture of nausea and fear, Sirius looked inside.

The lifeless form was crumpled against the tiled floor, in a thick pool of scarlet blood. His thin arms were stretched out before him, angry red slits down the pale skin. The blood had managed to seep everywhere, even in the boy's lank, overlong hair. Beside the sprawled body lay a knife, long and steel with an intricate silver blade. Sirius knew the truth even before his gaze travelled to the boy's face.

It was Peter.

Sirius' legs gave out beneath him, and he fell to his knees in a pool of Peter's blood. He was dimly aware of crawling towards the body, turning it over so he could see his friend's face better. It was grey, drawn, colourless and unmoving.

"No, Peter. No, come on, no, please, no. Come on, Peter, you're not dead, you're not, you're not dead…"

His hands were stained red as he fumbled with Peter's body, lifting his arms to look at the sliced that etched into both of Peter's wrists. Frantically, he slapped his cheeks lightly, then with increasing force. Lifting him by the shoulders, he shook him for a moment before lowering his ear to Peter's mouth, listening for breathing. When he heard the faint sound of inhaling, he let out his breath.

"Come on, Peter. Hang in there."

He reached down and lifted Peter over his shoulder, worried by the lightness of his plump frame. As he left the bathroom, trickles of blood slid down Sirius' robes, dripping onto the floor.

…..

It was hours later when Peter, after intense care from Mamam Pomfray, the young matron, regained consciousness. As his grey eyes crept open, Sirius rose from his chair and threw himself across the room. Peter winced visibly as Sirius crashed onto the small white hospital bed.

"Peter!"

Peter blinked at him. "S…Sirius?"

"What the hell?" Sirius smacked Peter on the chest, his voice hoarse and choked. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do that to me."

"I'm sorry."

"They thought they were going to lose you, Peter. They were a second away from calling your parents, do you realise? Why would you do something so stupid? Why?"

"I'm sorry."

"Do you even understand how much you scared me? I thought we'd lost you. Why in Merlin's name would you do something so reckless and stupid and insane! Did you even think about this before you did it? God, Peter, I can't…If you'd died…"

"I'm sorry." Peter had retreated back into the bed, his arms over his head as though to protect himself from the onslaught of words. Sirius caught sight of the bulky white bandages around his wrists and closed his mouth. Sighing, he leaned back against the bed.

"No, I'm sorry Peter. I didn't want to yell at you."

"I didn't mean to scare you or hurt you or anything."

"God, Peter, this isn't about me. I can't believe you…why would you…_why_?"

Peter started crying pitifully, tears pouring down his ruddy cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Sirius grabbed Peter and pressed himself to him, hugging him tightly. "Jesus, Peter," he whispered, his eyes welling up with tears. "Never again."

The two of them sat for a little while, both of them crying silently. It seemed like a long time before Peter spoke quietly, sobs in his voice.

"Who else knows?"

"No one. Just me. Madam Pomfray said there was no need to spread this around, although I think she sent an owl to your parents."

"So, James…"

"He doesn't know."

Peter relaxed. "Good," he said, before quickly tensing up again. "Please don't tell anyone, Sirius. Especially not James or Remus."

Sirius touched Peter's bandages. "Don't you think they might notice these? They aren't the least conspicuous of accessories."

"I'll stay here until they heal."

"Don't you think people will ask where you are?"

"Just say I was sick. Please, Sirius, I can't face them after this. Especially not…" he trailed off. "Just please Sirius."

"Only if you promise you'll never do this again. Promise me, Peter."

Peter looked at him sadly. "Okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Thank god."

Sirius pulled Peter into another hug, squeezing him so tightly he had to gasp for breath. When he pulled back, Peter was frowning.

"Where's my knife?"

"What?"

"I had a knife, one with a silver hilt. Have you seen it?"

"Wh…I mean, yeah I have, of course I've seen it, it was lying beside your body. Why do you ask?"

"I need it back."

Sirius actually laughed. "You have got to be kidding me. I'm not going to give you that knife back just so you can try again."

"I won't. I promised you, didn't I?"

"Then why on earth do you want the knife back?"

"It's a family heirloom. My mum gave it to me for potions this year. She'll go mental if I don't have it anymore."

"I can't just give it back to you, Peter. I really don't think you should be entrusted with sharp objects."

"Please, Sirius. I promise I won't okay? I get it, it was a stupid idea."

Against his better judgement, Sirius grudgingly took the knife from his pocket and placed it on the table beside his bed.

"I swear to god, Peter, if you try that again, I'll kill you myself."

"I understand."

"I mean it."

"Okay."

Peter started to sink back into the pillows, his eyes drifting shut. He'd been put on severe pain medication at Madam Pomfray's insistence, and was slowly fading from consciousness. Sirius patted him on the shoulder.

"I'll let you get some sleep, then, Wormtail."

"Thank you, Sirius," said Peter quietly. "You saved my life you know."

"Yeah, well. Make sure I never have to again."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Sirius got up to leave, turning back when he reached the curtain. "Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"I've never said this before, but I do love you, you know."

Peter smiled sleepily. "Don't be a girl, Padfoot."

"Yeah. Right. I know."

Sirius moved to leave again, but once more his mind was changed. "Hey, Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"About what James said earlier…"

"Don't worry about it, Sirius. It's fine."

"No, it's not. It was inexcusable. But all I can say is you know how James gets sometimes. He doesn't mean it…"

"It's not your problem, Sirius."

"Yeah but I want you to know, he doesn't say these things honestly. He just wants to hurt you, he'd say anything when he gets like that. You know that."

"Yeah, I do."

"You aren't nothing, Wormtail."

Peter's eyes closed completely as he relaxed back into the pillows. "Aren't I?"

**Now**

Sirius jumped to his feet at the sound of the door of the room opening. He was standing, the knife still brandished in his grip, when Peter walked in. He looked awful, pale and overweight with puffy pale eyes. For a moment, his eyes were simply fixed on the ground, but he quickly looked up. His gaze slid over to the opened box on the ground, the scattered paraphernalia around it, and finally to Sirius. Their eyes met for a second, until Peter glanced down at the knife in Sirius' hands. Then, he turned and ran.

It took Sirius a moment to react, but he quickly moved into action and began the chase, hurtling after Peter down the stairs of the inn. Lottie called after them from the desk but Sirius continued after the sprinting boy, throwing over the front door as he went. Peter had run out into the street, panting heavily as Sirius gained on him with very little effort. Peter, with his short round body and aversion to sport, was no match for Sirius. It took him about two minutes to back Peter into an alley wall, his back pressed against the brick.

"H-hello Sirius," stammered Peter nervously. "How are you?"

Sirius, his arm pinning Peter to the wall behind him, dug his elbow in a little further, causing Peter to squeal a little. His free hand, which wasn't holding the knife, reached into his pocket to find his wand. Peter watched him with fear in his eyes.

"Sirius," he laughed uneasily. "Don't be stupid. There are muggles everywhere along this street. Look."

They were attracting attention, the two of them, the tall black haired man pinning down the chubby little boy against the wall. Luckily, the street was filled with suspicious characters, men and women in dark coats with lowered eyes, who simply scurried past them with comment. Sirius registered a dim stab of gratitude.

"I knew it," he snarled. "I knew if I searched long enough, I'd find you. You're a good hider, Pettigrew, I'll give you credit for that. I shouldn't be surprised. Rats are good at scuttling about in the dark."

"Sirius…Sirius, please…"

Sirius withdrew his wand hand from his pocket and punched Peter squarely in the face. Blood leaked down his face as his lip split.

"Shut up! Shut up! I can't stand to hear another slimy, lying word you have to say. You don't get to talk now." Peter clamped his mouth shut, his eyes terrified and pleading as Sirius pointed his wand at the base of Peter's trembling throat.

"I've been waiting weeks for this," he hissed and Peter squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away.

"Make it quick then," he whispered.

Sirius dug his wand further into the white flesh, ready to cast his spell, but he hesitated. His mind flashed through his bank of memories of his own accord: Peter crouched on the floor beneath a flurry of willow blows, Peter grinning broadly as he soared astride his broom, Peter rubbing the ring around his index finger, Peter cowering away from James' hurled insults, Peter staring doe-eyed after James and Lily, Peter splayed out in a pool of his own blood, vicious slashes etched in his wrists. _I should have let him bleed to death_, thought Sirius, but he didn't cast the spell. His hand felt frozen.

"Why?" he spat, the words crawling out of his mouth without his permission. "Why would you do it? You loved James more than anyone, more than Lily I always thought. You loved him enough to put up with his crap, enough to be there for him when he treated you like nothing, enough to let him be happy without you. I thought he'd be safe with you." He dug his wand deeper into Peter's neck, causing him to set free a choked screech. "So _why_. Why, after everything we did, after how much you loved him, after the way we _trusted _you?"

Peter's answer was choked beyond recognition. Angrily, Sirius jerked the wand back so that he could talk.

"You never loved me," answered Peter, when his voice had returned. Sirius fist collided with his face again, this time forming an instant bruise over his eye. Peter winced, but made no noise.

"We _all _loved you!" roared Sirius in fury, his face contorted in rage. "You were our brother! You were _his _brother."

"I was your plaything." Peter's voice was oddly steady.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I was a toy. A game. You used me for tricks, to do what you told me to. It was never really me you wanted. You took advantage."

Sirius gaped at him. "Who told you that?"

"No one," answered Peter, avoiding Sirius' gaze.

"Voldemort," accused Sirius, ignoring Peter's flinch. "He planted these ideas in your head. Turned you against us. You filthy, disgusting little rat…"

"Please, Sirius…"

"You killed the man you loved. I want to know why. What did you get in return? Power, money, status?"

"You have no idea," whispered Peter. Sirius reared up again.

"What, Peter? Enlighten me, won't you, on the understandable path your mind takes to kill your best friend."

"You have no idea," said Peer again, his voice a whispered hush. "No idea what it's like to be so madly, desperately in love with someone who treats you like the dirt he finds on the sole of his shoe. No idea how it is to be surrounded by nothing but friends who get everything they ever want without even trying, while you're struggling along to keep your head above water. You have no clue how it is to try so hard and get nothing in return. You were always something, you and James and Remus. James especially. You could never imagine what it was like to be nothing."

Sirius was shaking with rage. "So you figured you'd sell yourself to the highest bidder? Well, I have news for you. You were always nothing, we were just too blind to see it."

"You sound like James." Peter smiled a little and Sirius punched him with all his strength, wishing his could dent the boy's face for good.

"Don't say his name," growled Sirius. "How can you stand there and utter his name when you led him to his grave? I never would have believed it of you, you who loved him more than even you could bear. I guess it's true what they say. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Sirius…"

"Shut up, Peter." He jabbed Peter with his wand once more, steeling himself. "Just shut up. Any last words?"

"Yes," whispered Peter, and Sirius saw that there were tears in his eyes. "May God forgive me."

Before Sirius could open his mouth to answer, Peter moved, his hand whipping out from behind his back. Sirius saw that he'd been gripping his wand, concealed against the wall, waiting for the right moment. Before Sirius could even draw breath, Peter slashed his wand through the air, the tip of the wand grazing Sirius' face as it went. The world went white, an enormous pressure forcing him to his knees, blinded. As he groped about, unseeing, he felt the knife be tugged from his grip, unable to do anything to prevent it.

When his sight came back, the world settling back to normal, the first thing he saw was blood. Blood and bodies decorated the streets, the corpses of the black-dressed muggles who'd crept past them in the streets, hoping to avoid trouble. He was splattered with crimson liquid, although he remained unharmed, his ears ringing with silence. Shaking, he stared about at the damage he could have prevented if he hadn't been so weak, so hesitant. His gaze fell upon the ground before him.

The silver hilted knife rested on the ground, the blade stained a bright, wet red. Beside the weapon sat a single finger, short, pale and plump. As he blinked away the blurriness in his eyes, he saw a small grey rat disappear into the gutter, slipping into the darkness. _Go after it_, he thought to himself, but he didn't move.

"God damn you Peter," he whispered. "God damn you to hell."

you, on the understandable path your mind takes to kill your best friend."usting litle ye. Peter winced, but made no noise.

s

Minutes later, when the Dementors glided to find him, Sirius still hadn't moved a muscle. They found him kneeling on the ground, blood congealing on the concrete around him, rotting corpses lining the street he crouched upon. A bloodstained knife was clenched in his right hand, a wand in his left, grazes etched into his bruised knuckles. Even when their dead, frozen fingers curled around him, he remained immobile, his eyes fixed on that last place he'd seen Peter Pettigrew.

"Wait for me, Wormtail. I'll find you. If it takes the rest of my life, I'll find you. And so heof my life, I'lp me God, I'll kill you."e been waiting weeks for thsi he base of Peter'd and pleading don'arely in the face. Blood leaked down his face as his lip spli

**okay? I get it, it was a stupid idea."rp objects."s n try again."ad to gasp for breath. When he pulled back, Peter was frownin**

**ho else knows."sat for a little while, both of them crying silently. It seemed like a long time before Peter spoke quietly, sob**_**yy would you...n'sn'r hurt you or anything."lf from the onslaught of words. Sirius caught sight of the bulky white bandages aro**_

**eter!"imself across the room. Peter winced visibly as Sirius crashed onto the small white hospital bed.**

**ush open the door, calling our Peter'ffindoed the open space, even making his way over to the throutEWTs tomrrow y though."t. I don'd James left. I think he might have gone to be alone or something."**

**omething useful and interesting."u know? hing. What about you?"shattered."I think that might have helped."speak, but James .ile and turned to sashay out of the common room. Sirius cleared his him, and it could **

**words of love crumpling and burning into nothingness inside the hissing at Peter'uld love me back. But I was just bein**

**sleep. What are you doing.", it'ap to his feet in shock.**

**the the mantlepieve same idea; Peter was also crouched beside the mantlepieve ing fire. He was surprised to see that he wasnCeuts of unprovoked anger. can nds up in surrender. "t love?" we realised what he really was."**

**him. What do you think of him?"lers in Care of Magical Creatures."y thought she might have given herself whiplash.**

**He moved to walk away from her befor ehe ng to Mindy, who heard from India, whose dad works in...nto the hallway, so distracted**

**James."t'" be weird."or anything,"ock was wearing off and he felt nothing but pure confusion.**

**eah, of course."hat day three years ago when you came down to breakfast after we found out about Remus?"y against his. Peter stf I had any idea you were talking about Lily, I swear I never would have...?"ily, weren're talkng **

**stunning."bad person. It makes me a guy. I mean, come on. alway ays thinking about her ing about her ands. "is words in such a about teh **

**ent are! vely, andance everywhere...le into the empty common room. " started down the hallway, followed by a reluctant Peter and e halls, almost rattling the floor beneath them.**

**"**


End file.
